Grouper Fillet with Corn, Tomato, and Plantain
This simple dish is filled with island flavor. The grouper is marinated in lemongrass and lime juice, then simply sauteed and finished in the oven. Vegetables are stewed in coconut milk. The grouper is served atop the stewed vegetables and sauteed plantains. With everything ready to go ahead of time and the grouper already marinated, this dish can be cooked and assembled in 15 minutes. As an added bonus, it is light on fat!
Ingredients
- Grouper Fillets - four, 8-ounce, cleaned
- Lemongrass - 8 stalks, cleaned
- Lime Juice - 2 limes
- Vegetable Stew
- Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Red Onions - 1/4 cup, diced
- Corn Kernels - 1 cup
- Green Bell Pepper - 1, seeded, deribbed, and diced
- French green beans (haricots) - 1 pound
- Coconut Milk - 1 cup
- Tomatoes - 3, large, peeled, seeded, and diced
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Plantain - 1 large
- Tarragon Flowers - 12 (alt. 4 sprig tarragon)
Instructions
To marinate the fish: Cut the lemongrass stalks in thin circles and spread half of them over the grouper fillets in a shallow dish. Squeeze the lime juice over the fish. Turn the fish and repeat on the other side. Marinate the grouper for 10 minutes.
To make the vegetable stew: Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 1 minute. Add the corn kernels and cook for 30 seconds, tossing or stirring gently. Add the bell pepper and 2 tablespoons of the coconut milk and cook for 30 seconds. Add the green beans and remaining coconut milk and cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the tomatoes and remove from the heat; set aside.
To cook the plantains: Peel the plantain and cut into thin slices on the bias. In a small saute pan over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the plantain slices until golden on both sides, about 1 minute total. Season with salt.
To cook the fish: Preheat the oven to 450 F. In another large ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and sear the fish fillet for 30 seconds on each side. Place in the oven and cook for 5 minutes, or until the center is opaque.
To serve: Arrange the vegetable stew in the center of each plate. Place a fish fillet on top of the vegetables. Garnish with plantain and tarragon flowers or sprig.
