Baked Fish with a Spicy Tomato Sauce

You know, I hated fish when I was a child. Yup, the only thing you could get me to eat were fish sticks, and that's only because those things aren't even made from real fish. Fish just always tasted too.....fishy for me. You know what I mean?

The funny thing is, when I got older and started to watch the Food Network, and eventually went to culinary school, I learned that fish shouldn't smell, or taste, fishy. Hmmm...who would've guessed?! I knew I was on to something all those years as a child.

Fresh fish should not have a strong smell at all, and if it does have a smell, it should smell like the ocean. I guess that's where we went wrong back then.

We used frozen fish.

And the REALLY bad thing is that we lived in Hawaii for 5 years. WTH?!? There really is no excuse to not have fresh fish when you live on an island completely surrounded by.....what...you guessed it.... Fresh Fish.

But, in my parents defense, they worked a lot, and both of them were in school, so they didn't have too much time to drive to the fish markets every week. I've made up for it since then because I go to the farmers market as much as possible now, and I try to never leave without getting some fresh fish to cook for dinner.

Here is a wonderful fish recipe.

Note ***Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with frozen fish, and it can be used in any of my recipes, but I just try to get fresh whenever I can***

Baked Fish in a Spicy Tomato Sauce

4-6 fish filets, any firm white fish
Olive Oil
4 garlic cloves
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
1 bunch cilantro
1 serrano pepper
1/2 tablespoon black mustard seeds
2 yellow onions, sliced thin
1 green pepper, sliced
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons fenugreek
1 cup of chicken stock
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. Season fish with 2 teaspoons of garam masala, a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper, and set aside.

In a mortar & pestle, or food processor, mix garlic, ginger cilantro, serrano, and mustard seeds.

Heat a pan on medium heat and add the garlic-ginger-cilantro mixture. Cook for 5 minutes and add the onion, green pepper, tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, pepper flakes, curry, fenugreek, and cook for 5-8 minutes, until onions and green pepper are soft and slightly browned. Add chicken stock and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, place fish on a baking pan and bake in oven until fully cooked, about 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness.

Place fish on a plate and spoon sauce over. Top with a garnish of fresh cilantro and sliced ginger(optional). Also, you can blend the sauce for a smoother finish.