Ingredients:
¼ cup plus 2/3 cup olive oil
6 large garlic cloves
Pinch of red chili flakes
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 Tbs. capers
4 cups water
6 red snapper or striped bass fillets, each about 6 oz., skin on
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
½ cup all-purpose flour
12 ripe plum tomatoes, oven dried*
¾ cup cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
30 pitted Kalamata olives
3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 ½ Tbs. chopped fresh basil
Olivier Toasted Garlic Oil, to taste
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 400F.
In a Dutch oven or deep ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat, warm the ¼ cup olive oil, add the garlic and sauté, stirring often, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chili flakes, stock, capers and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer while the fish is cooking.
Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and lightly dust both sides of the fillets with the flour.
In a large sauté pan over high heat, warm the 2/3 cup olive oil until nearly smoking. Arrange the fish, skin side down, in the pan and fry until golden underneath, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the fish to the simmering liquid. Add the oven-dried and cherry tomatoes and the olives. Return to a simmer, transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Return the pan to the stove top and set over medium heat.
Transfer the fish to warmed individual bowls. Simmer the liquid, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to 6 cups, 4 to 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parsley and basil over the fish and spoon the sauce over the fish. Drizzle with garlic oil and serve immediately.
photo credit: Williams Sonoma