Description
Mediterranean baked fish with tomatoes and olives that’s actually easy and tastes amazing. One pan, 35 minutes, even picky kids eat it!
Ingredients
For the Fish:
- 4 haddock pieces (whatever size they had at the store)
- Salt and pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes if you can handle spice
Everything Else:
- ⅓ cup olive oil (not the fancy stuff, just decent)
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thick because I’m lazy
- 6 thyme sprigs or that dried stuff in the jar
- 1½ cups baby tomatoes or whatever small ones look good
- 1 cup mixed olives from the deli
- ¼ cup jalapeños from a jar
- 2 teaspoons capers (those weird little green balls)
What I swap when I’m broke or can’t find stuff:
- Fish: cod, tilapia, whatever’s on sale
- Tomatoes: any small tomatoes work fine
- Spicy stuff: leave it all out if your kids are wimps like mine
- Olives: whatever kind you don’t hate
- Herbs: oregano, Italian seasoning, whatever’s not expired
Instructions
Put your dish with just the oil in the oven. Set it to 450°F and let it heat for about 8 minutes while you prep everything. Set a timer because I forgot once and almost started a fire.
Take fish out of fridge so it’s not freezing cold. Pat it dry with paper towels – wet fish is gross and doesn’t cook right. Salt and pepper both sides. Don’t be stingy, fish needs help.
Get your good oven mitts and pull out that hot dish. The oil should be shimmering. Drop in half the garlic, half the thyme, tomatoes, fish, and olives. Everything should sizzle like crazy when it hits the oil. That noise means it’s working.
Throw the jalapeños and capers over everything. Try to get some on each fish piece. The capers will pop and crackle – that’s normal.
Turn oven to 375°F and put it back in for 15-18 minutes. Thick fish takes longer, thin pieces cook faster. Don’t keep opening the door – you’ll mess up the temperature.
Want it more golden? Broil for 1-2 minutes but watch it like a hawk. I burned one batch because I got distracted by a text from my sister.
Take it out when fish flakes with a fork and tomatoes look all burst and jammy. Put the rest of the thyme on top and spoon that incredible oil all over everything. That oil is basically liquid heaven.
Notes
Poke fish with a fork – if it breaks apart easily it’s done. Don’t overcook it or it turns into cardboard. I learned this the hard way.
Don’t cram everything in one dish if you have huge pieces. Crowded fish steams instead of roasting.
Jarred garlic works fine if you’re rushed. Those Trader Joe’s frozen cubes work too.
Thick fish needs 18 minutes, thin stuff maybe 12. Check early rather than overcook it.
Save leftover oil in fridge – it’s amazing on salads and pasta for about a week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mediterranean