4.) Tom Douglas, pollock provençal
James Beard Award-winning chef Tom Douglas owns 10 restaurants in the Seattle area and is renowned for his innovative approach to seafood. The former Iron Chef contestant and the host of the well-regarded radio show, Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen, recently took on the ambitious task of revamping the lunch menu for the Seattle Public Schools system – a district of 48,400 students with 43 percent receiving free and reduced-priced meals.
One of his star entrees for the school district was pollock provençal, baked pollock with a tomato- and olive-based sauce. (For those curious about the district’s sourcing, it bought its pollock from Seattle-based Trident Seafoods and made the sauce from scratch in the district’s central commissary).
To the surprise of many who expected students – a notoriously picky demographic – to deep-six any fish entrée sent their way, the dish was a big hit. They reported loving the zesty taste of the olives and capers, a perfect match for the mild taste of pollock. The dish serves 10.
Ingredients:
- 10 frozen pollock portions (unbreaded, 2.6 ounces each)
- 2 cups provençal topping (recipe follows)
- 1.5 cups canned whole roma tomatoes, drained and chopped
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon capers, drained and rinsed
- ¾ teaspoon garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, roughly chopped
- Pinch Kosher salt
- Cooking spray (olive or canola oil)
Recipe steps:
- Prepare provençal topping by combining all ingredients except for the fish
- Spray sheet pan with cooking spray. Place frozen Alaska pollock portions on pan and spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of Provençal Topping over each portion.
- Cook Alaska pollock portions according to manufacturer’s instructions and until internal temperature is 145°F.
- Serve with a side of short pasta, such as orzo or rotini, seasoned with olive oil.
(Courtesy of GreatFishforGreatKids.org)
