Pan Roasted Gulf Pompano

We used to go to Panama City Beach, Florida for vacation regularly years ago. One of the things we always made sure to do was to have dinner at least one night at Captain Anderson's. The dish we looked forward to having was their Gulf Pompano. It was done so right that I still think about it. The pompano was grilled whole and served with an herbed garlic lemon olive oil. Yah!

Pompano has sweet, buttery flesh. It's a good fish to cook and serve whole because its bone structure is firm and compact with very few pin bones making it easy to filet on the plate. Plus it looks pretty damn cool served whole at the table.

We were able to get a couple nice fresh pompano recently. Here is how we prepared them.

Preheat oven to 375. Meanwhile score the pompano and season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Make sure to rub some down into the score cuts. 

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Carefully add whole fish and pan sear for 5 minutes on each side. Make sure you use a timer so you don't over-cook the fish.



Put the fish onto a baking tray and into the oven to continue cooking.

Cook fish for 6 to 8 minutes - again use a timer.

We made cous cous with dried fruit and asparagus with shallots cooked in a grill pan as a side dishes but below is a recipe for a vegetable hash that would go very well too.

Spoon the herb oil over the fish

Herb Oil

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup fresh parsley

3 cloves raw garlic

Juice of one lemon

Pinch of salt & pepper

 

Preparation

Add all ingredients to a food processor

Blend for 10 seconds

Pour into a serving bowl

Home made sourdough bread

Vegetable Hash
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 medium red tomatoes, chopped
1 small eggplant, diced
2 medium red bell peppers, diced
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Preparation
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add onions, garlic and bell peppers.
Sauté onion mixture for several minutes.
Add zucchini and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Stir to combine and cook. Add the tomatoes and eggplant to the pan.
Cook vegetable mixture for another minute or two.
Add fresh herbs and lemon juice to the pan and stir to combine.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Vegetables should be crisp-tender and seasoned well. Set vegetables aside to cool slightly