This is an easy weeknight fish recipe that delivers a lot of flavor for a minimal amount of work. The trick comes in roasting bell peppers and grape tomatoes in a very hot oven until very soft and caramelized – and then adding the fish to the pan to roast just until done. (I set the oven for 425 degrees F, but my oven runs hot so I’m sometimes roasting close to 450 degrees F, which works fine here, too, as long as you stir occasionally.) When you add the fish, you also toss the pepper-tomato mixture with some chopped garlic and a touch of balsamic and then mound the mixture over the fish. Grate a bit of parmigiano overall if you like. So good.

This recipe serves two in our household but could yield three smaller portions. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to scale this up or down.  Just know that the more veggies you start with in the pan, the longer it will take them to caramelize and cook down since they give off a lot of moisture. So for the best results,  use a larger roasting pan if you scale up. I love enameled cast iron (such as Le Creuset, Lodge or Staub) for this, as it does such a good job at caramelizing the vegetables. But a pyrex or ceramic baking or shallow roasting dish would work fine, too.

Serves 2 to 3

• 10 to 12 ounces grape tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
• 1 large (7 to 8-ounce) red or yellow pepper (or 1 small red and 1 small yellow), seeded and sliced lengthwise into wide strips and then into thin diagonal strips (a scant 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 to 3 teaspoons chopped fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• Parmigiano Regianno for grating
• 14 ounces to 1 pound white fish filets (or 3 five-ounce filets), such as haddock or cod (cut into two or three pieces if you like)
• Roughly chopped parsley or basil for garnish

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a heavy (preferably enameled cast-iron) 2-quart baking dish, combine the grape tomatoes, the peppers, the oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Toss thoroughly. Pop the pan in the oven and roast, stirring once halfway through (and rotating the pan) for 30 to 40 minutes, until the vegetables are shrunken, deeply colored, and the tomatoes have released much of their moisture. 

2. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Add the garlic and the balsamic vinegar and stir well, scraping the sides of the pan as you go.  Push the vegetables to the sides and ends of the pan.

3. Season the fish filets on both sides with salt and pepper. If the filets are very thin at the tail end, tuck the ends under. Arrange the fish in the center of the baking pan and then gently spoon and mound the vegetables back over and around the filets, covering as much as you can. Grate some Parmigiano overall if you like.

4. Return the pan to the oven and roast, 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish. Remove from the oven and serve, garnishing with more parmigiano and some chopped parsley or basil if you like.

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