Many people remember the taste of fish in tomato sauce from childhood. Such a dish is still prepared in kindergartens and served with mashed potatoes. Many children are happy to eat such a fish, because it is tasty and bright, and in addition, even the little ones know how healthy it is. The dish gained considerable popularity in the half-starved 90s, when on the shelves of the shops it was rarely possible to meet something tasty at an affordable price. Fish in tomato sauce, cooked at home, is a fairly budget dish and at the same time quite tasty. This explains folk love. Today, such fish is cooked not so much out of economy as because of the wonderful taste. Moreover, thanks to expressiveness and organicity, the recipe has occupied a worthy niche even in the restaurant menu. So, the benefits, taste, economy, ease of preparation - the main trump cards of fish stewed in tomato sauce. Let's try and we cook this wonderful dish!
Choose a fish
Small sprats, inexpensive blue whiting, noble trout, steaks of huge catfish - almost any fish is suitable for this recipe. There are not so many rules: the scales need to be cleaned, large - cut into pieces, and small - stewed whole. Fish in tomato sauce - the recipe is quite universal, and it is suitable for most types that we use for cooking festive and everyday dishes. But in the best way for this dish is suitable fish, which contains a minimum of bones: hake, pollock, saury, mackerel, salmon.
How to cook tomato sauce? Recipes, ingredients and methods of preparation
In addition to fish, you will need vegetables: onions, carrots, garlic. Ideally, for a tomato base, fresh tomatoes should be used, but you can do with pasta or juice. If desired, bell pepper, herbs, roots, ginger are added to the sauce.
The sauce is best prepared separately. To do this, fry finely chopped onions, grated carrots, slices of other vegetables in oil. Using a blender or a meat grinder, we make a tomato from tomatoes (it is advisable to first remove the skin and large seeds). When the onion becomes translucent, and the carrots let the golden juice, you can pour the tomato. You donโt need to stew for too long, just boil it.
The approximate proportions of the products are as follows: a kilogram of fish will require a couple of onions, one carrot and a half cup of liquid. If tomato paste is used, then 2-3 tablespoons should be stirred in water. After boiling add your favorite spices and salt.
How to cook fish in tomato sauce?
Cover the stewed sauce with a lid and set aside so that it is saturated and infused. We cut the fish into pieces or harvest whole small carcasses. If it is planned that the fish will be used with its head, the gills must be removed. Otherwise, they nourish a fragrant, delicate dish with the smells of tina.
So that the fish in tomato sauce retains its shape and does not fall apart during cooking, pre-fry it in oil. Most species need breading. Only the amount of flour should be minimal. Lay the fried slices in a stewpan in layers. When all the fish is ready, proceed to the next stage - stewing.
To do this, pour sauce into the stewpan so that it covers the fish. The further process should take place on low heat, under a lid, so that the stewed fish in tomato sauce is tender. In the process of cooking, you need to try the dish to decide whether to add acid, pungency, sweets. Here a lot depends on tomatoes, because their taste is very different. If the dish turns out to be too fresh, you can add a little lemon juice, soy sauce, adjika to it. At the very end, add finely chopped greens - it will emphasize the taste of the dish.
Speaking of dishes. It is best to cook such a dish in a cast-iron pot or stewpan, a ceramic pot. It turns out perfectly well in the usual gosyatnitsa.
Serving to the table
As a rule, fish in tomato sauce is served immediately on plates. So that not a drop of aromatic gravy does not disappear in vain, pieces of fish are laid on top of the side dish. Fresh greens go well with the elegant color of the sauce. For decoration, you can use colorful slices of fresh vegetables, olives, olives, canned corn.
Garnish, food compatibility
Fish in tomato sauce, the recipe for which is discussed above, is combined with most vegetable and cereal side dishes. If pasta is served with fish, it is better to choose those that hold the sauce well: shells, feathers, scallops. Although it also combines well with long spaghetti.
For the festive table, you can choose stewed asparagus, young potatoes, mashed green peas, pasta. And for an ordinary family dinner, you can serve boiling porridge with aromatic butter.
In addition to a side dish, home-made pickles, pickled mushrooms, salads from seasonal vegetables can be served with fish in tomato sauce. Bread also plays an important role, because many people like to dip it in sweet and sour tomato sauce.