Fish Fillets Nicois TOTAL TIME: 20 MINUTES

This simple, light, 20-minute dish is made with tomatoes and wine, both pungent tastes which complement the mildness and softness of fish. We use porgy fillets here (we filleted 4 porgies and used the heads and bones to make the fish soup) but any fish can be used. The oilier fish are particularly good with this type of sauce.

3/4 cup very finely chopped onions
8 small fish fillets (about 4 1/2 ounces each)
1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter


Wash the chopped onions in a sieve under cold water. Press with your hand to extrude most of the water. The washing prevents the onions from turning dark and makes them less bitter and strong-tasting.

Arrange the fillets, skin side up, in a large gratin dish and sprinkle with the onions. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the butter. Place a piece of buttered waxed paper on top and bake in the center of a 400-degree oven for I 0 to 1 2 minutes. At that point the fillets should be tender and cooked through.

Remove the fillets to a serving platter or, if you plan to serve them in the gratin dish, hold the fillets with a plate or a small lid and pour the juice into a skillet.

Reduce the juice to about 2/3 cup. Add the butter, piece by J piece, beating with a whisk to incorporate it into the juice, and bring the mixture to a boil. As it comes to a strong boil, the mixture rises like milk ready to boil over; this is when the fat binds into the liquid.



8 SERVINGS