Pesce alla Marinara su Orzo

Pesce alla Marinara su Orzo

Many cultures have dishes that revolve around some kind of seafood being cooked in a tomato sauce.  Sometimes the dishes are stews, sometimes they are a soup, other times the dish is a braise or poach of some sort. 

For this dish I wanted to do something different.  I was not in the mood for a soup or stew.  I also wanted to use food I had on hand to avoid a trip to the grocery store.

I had Riverence Rainbow Trout on hand.  I have prepared their steel head and rainbow in a variety of ways that we have greatly enjoyed.  Still, I wanted to do something different.

In the theme of fish cooked in tomato sauce, I have previously prepared steel head trout in a bouillabaisse style sauce and in a putanesca style sauce.  Thinking about these dishes launched me in the direction of fish in marinara sauce. 

From there it was a function of deciding on the accompaniments.   We have used orzo in a variety of fish dishes and like it so it seemed a natural fit.  Still, I wanted something different.  And of course, we needed a vegetable.

For the orzo, I did not want it swimming in tomato sauce but I did not want it dry.  I decided I would moisten and flavor it with Beurre Béarnaise. 

Béarnaise and fish work well together and I thought it would stand up to the tomato sauce well.  I also decided a nice glazed carrot would complement the overall flavor of the dish. 

I think I will use fresh asparagus next time.  It is what I really wanted for this dish.  But, I did not want to make the grocery store run. 😀

I had some mushrooms that I needed to use and thought including them with orzo would work well.  I also included a little sliced green onion. 

I cooked the orzo and reserved it on the side.  I then sautéed the mushrooms and green onions and mixed them into the orzo. 

I had some reduction used for béarnaise sauce and I stirred it into the orzo mixture.  Finally, I stirred in (our mounted) the orzo mixture with whole butter.  A couple of minor seasoning adjustments the orzo was done.

For the fish:  I made the marinara.  I then seasoned the fish with salt and pepper.  The seasoned fish was lightly seared in a sauté pan and then placed into the marinara sauce.  I simmered the fish for approximately 3 minutes and plated it on a mound of the orzo mixture.   

Overall, the dish worked well.  Next time I do this one, I will make a smooth tomato sauce that is not quite as thick as this one was. 

#LifeTimeLearning #LifeTimeTeaching #FamilyFood #RainbowTrout #Riverence #FishinTomatoSauce #Orzo #BeurreBéarnaise

 

As always, your questions or comments are welcome.

Until next time, Bon Appetit Y’all

Leslie Bartosh