Baked Sea Bass With Potatoes, Tomatoes and Onions

-NYTimes/Bittman, 3 Jul 2011

Baked Sea Bass With Potatoes, Tomatoes and Onions
By MARK BITTMAN
Time: 1 hour

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

6 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices

3 medium onions, thinly sliced

Salt and black pepper

9 unpeeled garlic cloves, crushed

6 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish

6 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus more for garnish

6 whole small sea bass or other fish (about 4 pounds total), scaled and gutted.

1. Heat the oven to 350. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Spread half the potatoes in the pan in a single layer, followed by half the tomatoes and half the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and repeat the layers. Scatter the garlic, thyme and rosemary on top and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the oil. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, rinse the fish with cold water to remove any blood or traces of viscera. Make three deep, parallel crosswise cuts on each side of each fish. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Uncover the roasting pan and lay the fish on top of the vegetables. Raise the oven temperature to 375. Bake until the fish is opaque and flakes easily near its backbone, about 12 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon oil, garnish with more thyme and rosemary sprigs and serve.

Yield: 6 servings.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes With Goat Cheese Fondue

-Melissa Clark, NYT.com

Time: 20 minutes

2 to 3 large firm tomatoes, or 4 to 6 small firm ones

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons mascarpone

3 tablespoons goat cheese, at room temperature

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 anchovies, finely chopped

1/4 cup panko or other coarse bread crumbs

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If necessary, slice a very thin layer off bottoms of tomatoes so they will stand upright. Core tomatoes, and carve them out, stopping about about 3/4 inch from bottom and sides. (Do not remove too much, or tomato will collapse when baked.) Season inside of each tomato with salt. In a small bowl, stir together mascarpone and goat cheese.

2. To prepare topping, melt butter with oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and anchovies, and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in bread crumbs, and sauté 2 minutes more. Season with pepper.

3. Fill each hollow with mascarpone mixture. Top generously with bread crumbs. Transfer tomatoes to a baking sheet, and bake until they are slightly blistered and the tops are golden, about 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 to 3 servings.

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

-eatingwell.com

INGREDIENTS
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans
2 medium tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
DIRECTIONS

Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on High until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees F until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.)
Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt; microwave on High until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.)
When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.