There’s a reason most sheet-pan suppers involve chicken instead of fish, and it has to do with the easy, crowd-pleasing nature of the dish.
With chicken, you can pretty much add any vegetable to the pan, safe in the knowledge that whatever you choose (potatoes, beets, fennel or mushrooms) will work nicely when flavored with the roasting juices of the bird.
Fish is more persnickety as a pan-sharing partner. Not only do you have to worry about matching what may be two very distinct flavors (trout and parsnips?), but there are cooking times to consider.
Fish cooks so quickly that you need to pair it with a vegetable that will either be done in the same amount of time (often under 15 minutes) or start the vegetables before you add the fish to the pan. This is not hard, but it is another thing to keep track of, which can mitigate the easy-breezy point of the sheet-pan supper in the first place.
In this recipe for quick-cooking hake with roasted peppers, I’ve done the math for you: Start roasting the peppers 15 to 20 minutes before adding the fish.
And in terms of the taste combination, sweet golden-edged slivers of bell peppers will work well with whatever fish you can get. Hake is an amenable, loose-fleshed white fish that is relatively sustainable and local in East Coast waters.
If you can’t find it, pick up similarly mild flounder, blackfish, cod or porgy, which will keep the flavor profile skewed toward the sweet peppers. Or try stronger-tasting salmon, tuna, trout or mackerel. Adjust the cooking time as needed. Hake cooks quickly, but a thick piece of salmon may need an extra few minutes.
For the prettiest and most complex dish, use an array of peppers. Bell peppers in their autumnal colors (gold, orange, red) are your plump, sweet workhorses here. But if you’ve got some poblano, Cubanelle, banana, Anaheim or other not-too-fiery chilies in your fridge, feel free to slice them up and throw them into the mix to add heat.
Finish the dish with olives, which give it a salty tang, and a garlicky parsley salad, which lends color, freshness and bite. Add a bottle of wine and some crusty bread, and your meal will be complete.
Roasted Hake with Sweet Peppers
Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Ingredients
1 small bunch fresh lemon or regular thyme
1 1/2 pounds hake fillets
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, more as needed
Black pepper
3 large bell peppers, preferably 1 red, 1 orange and 1 yellow, thinly sliced
4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
1/4 cup pitted, sliced black or green olives, or use a combination
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 garlic clove, grated
1 cup loosely packed Italian parsley leaves, chopped
Preparation
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pull 1 tablespoon thyme leaves off the bunch and finely chop.
2. Season fish all over with a large pinch or two of salt and pepper and rub with chopped thyme leaves. Let rest at room temperature while you prepare peppers.
3. Spread peppers on a rimmed sheet pan and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Top peppers with the remaining thyme sprigs. Roast, tossing occasionally, until peppers are softened and golden at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Push peppers to the edges of the pan, clearing a space in the center. Lay fish out on that empty space and drizzle with oil. Scatter olives over the top of fish and peppers. Roast until fish turns opaque and is just cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, garlic and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, then whisk in parsley. Taste and add more salt or vinegar, or both, if needed. Serve fish and peppers drizzled with vinaigrette.
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