Cooking Light with Rachael Ray: Greek Baked Fish

This recipe is one that grabbed my attention from the start. Tell me something has olives, feta and olive oil...and say no more. I am in love. Knowing that my husband is not a fish fan, I knew this was going to be a tough sell. So, to keep us all happy, I used the following recipe, yet substituted 2 of the fish pieces for 2 thinly-cut chicken breasts (cooked in separate dishes). The results were wonderful! This is a great week-night dinner. It looks like it takes some time, but most of that work is done by the oven. With about 15 minutes of prep and 25 minutes in the oven, dinner is served!

GREEK BAKED FISH (or CHICKEN)
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 (6-ounce) pieces of haddock or thin chicken breasts
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup REDUCED-FAT crumbled Feta
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F.



Arrange fish or chicken (thin or pounded to 1" thickness) in a baking dish. Lightly dress with 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil; season with a tiny bit of salt and some pepper.

Combine garlic, oregano, parsley, red pepper, olives and onions in a bowl and dress with just enough 1/2 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Toss together to lightly coat. Arrange topping all over the top of the fish or chicken. Scatter feta on top. Bake fish 20-25 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges alongside. Fantastic served with a salad or roasted vegetables (as seen in photo with asparagus).

RESULTS

I know I've said that bread was intimidating to me, but I think fish might have bread beat. I can whip up a tuna melt with the best of them, however actually cooking the fish has always caused a bit of cook's anxiety. As it tends to do, taking a chance and teaching myself to cook something new has transformed my cooking abilities and relieved some unnecessary anxiety. If we don't ever step outside our cooking comfort zones, how will we ever learn or expand on our skills? And just think of all the great dishes we would miss out on! So if you are or aren't into fish, I would give this a try. It really is easy to prepare and tastes incredible! Still not sold on the idea? Make it with chicken. My "Picky Rudy" refuses to eat haddock (with his nose turned up like that 10-year-old boy he becomes when I make something he doesn't "like"), so I subbed chicken. It's still healthy...and still delicious; an easy accommodation.


To make this a "lean" version of Rachael's Greek Baked Fish, I reduced the amount of olive oil, reduced the amount of feta used and replaced it with a reduced-fat version. I also left out the bread crumbs; leaving room for a salad or roasted vegetables. When we do all of this, this is what we get...

NUTRITION FACTS (per serving):
W/ HADDOCK~ 332.75 calories; 15.4g fat; 6.2g carbohydrate, 41.07g protein;  1.2g fiber
W/ CHICKEN~ 280 calories;  11.34g fat;  5.38g carbohydrate;  41.07g protein;  1.03g fiber

BEFORE (w/Haddock): 809 calories;  46.43g fat;  44.86g carbohydrate;  50.42g protein;  3.13g fiber
SAVES: 476.25 calories; 31.03g fat;  38.66g carbohydrate

*PRINT~FRIENDLY*

Enjoy!