WHB: Red Snapper With Warm Tomato-Saffron Vinaigrette

It finally happened, tomato season is officially over.   My tomato plants were pulled up this weekend after I harvested a tiny crop of small but intensely flavored tomatoes.  It was tempting to make one last tomato sandwich, but I saw a recipe in Food & Wine magazine that used cherry tomatoes in a sauce served over salt baked fish.  I decided my small tomatoes would be perfect for the sauce, served over pan grilled red snapper.  I didn't feel like coating a fish with salt paste and baking it. Some other time perhaps.  This was an incredibly easy dish to make, taking around 15 minutes in total to make.  I've made sauces similar to this before, but this illustrates how different a recipe can be by adding a different herb.  In this case it's saffron (in truth a spice, don't tell anyone), which gave the sauce a beautiful yellow color, and distinctive honey flavor.  It's the perfect dish for Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn, but hosted this week by Patl at Up A Creek Without A Patl. 

Here's my last bowl of tomatoes.  They're Early Girls, which kept shrinking in size once Fall set in.  Strangely, the smaller they got, the stronger their flavor.

These are very simple ingredients--shallots, garlic, and tomatoes. But, the saffron and a tablespoon of sherry vinegar make it taste very different than when I use basil or oregano.  And it only takes a small pinch of the saffron to give the vinaigrette it's wonderful flavor. 

There are still a few little tomatoes left--for that last tomato sandwich?   

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Red Snapper With Warm Tomato-Saffron Vinaigrette   (Adapted from Food & Wine)

INGREDIENTS

   •    4 red snapper fillets, about 8 ounces each
   •    4 garlic cloves, 3 smashed, 1 minced
    •    1 tablespoon finely chopped leaves
    •    2 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
    •    Pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
    •    1 small shallot, minced
    •    3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or small tomatoes quartered
    •    2 tablespoons canned low-sodium chicken broth
    •    1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
    •    Freshly ground pepper
    •   
Note:  Chop your ingredients before starting the fish

DIRECTIONS
    1.    Broil the snapper if you wish.  I prefer to pan broil them in a heavy non-stick pan. First, rub salt and freshly ground pepper into the surface of the fish. Add a film of oil to the pan and set over medium high heat.  Cook the fillets until done, about 3-5 minutes on each side, according to the thickness of the fish. When done, remove to serving a plate and keep warm.
    2.    Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the saffron and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the shallot and minced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and cook just until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 3 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Add the vinegar and chopped parsley and season with pepper.
    3.    Spoon the tomato vinaigrette sauce on the fish and serve

Comments

[Mae]

I love this kind of dish! Love red snapper and tomatoes together with the onion and the garlic. Oh, my! Your photos are torturing me again... what a fabulous post and photos.

Gee, you've officially made me hungry now. Thanks! I hope you're happy. :)

[Kalyn]

Looks fantastic. I love saffron. We must have our gardens synchronized because I pulled up my tomato plants this Sunday. I saved about 20 nearly ripe tomatoes and put them on the table on my porch to see if they would ripen. There were a few ripe ones, which I ate (with the fish I made for my WHB post, coming tomorrow). How's that for synchronicity? Tomatoes, fish, and pulled up tomato plants.

Great minds think alike is all I can say! I thought of you because last night I made a Thai Chicken Soup which would have been great for someone with a cold. Hope the taste buds have officially returned.

[Jeff]

I had some crispy red snapper a few weeks ago..it rocked!

[Julie]

I agree with Kalyn -- it looks fantastic. Sad to see tomato season end but it looks like you are sending it out in a memorable way.

[Karina]

I too, will miss tomatoes. Sigh. This dish looks lovely. [I gave a shout out to your tortilla soup, btw. ;-)].

[aria]

oh sher, divine! i rarely cook with saffron these days, thanks for the reminder. mmmm, that looks so good!! i trust you gave upsie a bite?!

[gattina]

Sher,
Me either, not usually prefer baked fish. Pan-fry/broiling is so easy to do, and your result is so beautiful!
Do your green tomatoes taste sweet? Some stores here sell them, I want to try...

[Callipygia]

I'm loving the sauce. I've been seeing so many tomato/saffron pairings that I just have to try this. Good thing I saw this before grocery shopping

[Burcu]

It's past midnight and I'm so hungry: not a very good time to look at your pictures of fresh bread + fish + tomatoes + garlic mmmmmmm

[Lisa]

That looks delicious and I'm getting very hungry! I love snapper and haven't had it in ages. This is definitely one to tag and try...

[Christine]

Now that I'm home, the second thing on my list of things to do (the first is to check in with all my favorite food bloggers) is to hightail it to the Co-op to scoop up any tomatoes that may be left in the bins!
Fabulous recipe Sher. I can't wait to try it.

[sher]

Mae,

Well, you've made me hungry so many times with your wonderful pictures--so we're not even even! :)

Kalyn,

I saw your recipe today and it's funny how similar our thinking was this last week. (Twilight Zone music!)

Jeff,

Red snapper rules!

Julie,

Yes, have to start the long wait until next Spring when the new tomatoes come in! Ah well.

Karina,

Thanks for the mention--your soup is great!

Aria,

I did give Upsie a tiny bit. She told me she prefers salmon!

Gattina,

My green tomatoes aren't as sweet as when they're ripe. But, they are interesting--and they taste great fried. Yum!

Callipygia,

I think tomato and saffron are perfect together. I love that honey taste it adds to things.

Burcu,

Oh dear! :) That's happened to me so often too--sometimes after looking at your blog! Makes for late night snacking.

Lisa,

Yes, the red snapper is beckoning you! :)

Christine,

I sure hope you got your tomatoes!

[Rosa]

That looks fabulously delicious! I could just eat such a dish now...

[gattina]

Sher,
I just fried green tomatoes... can't tell if I like it for now (but definitely not dislike them)... they's slightly tangy and salty (the batter). But you're right, it's interesting.

[Ruth]

What a glorious looking dish!!!! The photos have me wanting to lick the screen. I can actually smell the aroma of shallots, garlic and saffron.

Thanks so much for sharing. This is definitely a keeper!

[Brilynn]

What a great way to end tomato season! This looks delicious.

[Melly53]

I miss my fresh tomatoes. I just come to your site to stare at the fab food pics. I wonder if I could make this using the tomatoes I canned??