Fish On A Budget

Fish is no longer the inexpensive dish that it was when I was young. Lobster was never really cheap but fish was generally looked upon as an item that helped stretch the weekly food budget. Fresh fish has now become a budget buster if careful shopping is not the first step in meal preparation.

Since I now live in an area where fresh fish often has traveled several thousand miles after being caught, fresh is somewhat of a misnomer to attach to the fish being sold. We have been checking out alternatives to the sole , red snapper and tuna that is on display at high prices in our local markets.

Several frozen entries from Asia and Australian waters have caught our attention and are helping fill the family fish meals without a budget breaking price.

We recently tried the Barramundi Frozen fillets that are appearing in the frozen fish cases of our local markets. These are surprisingly good and deserve your attention.
The Barramundi we tried were Wild Caught. There are also Barramundi fish farms in Australia producing great quantities of this fish for the world market.. The fish is frozen in fillets that are generally about 6 ounces and cost about $2 per fillet.

We prepared the fish using a simple baked technique and accompanied it with a rice dish that worked well with this excellent fish.

Baked Barramundi and Rice Indonesian

Ingredients:
Fish:
4 Barramundi fillets 6 oz each
½ cup butter
1 lemon

Rice
4 cups cooked rice
½ cup frozen peas- cooked
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
salt
1/4 Tsp cayenne
¼ tsp cinnamon
1Tbsp cumin


Preparation- Fish

Step 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Step 2. Melt ½ cup of butter in a baking dish
Step 3. Coat both sides of the fillet with the melted butter.
Step 4. Season the fish with salt and squeeze lemon juice over the fillets.
Step 5. Bake for about 20 minutes until fish flakes when tested with a fork

Rice Preparation:

Step 1. In a skillet sauté in extra virgin olive oil–the onion, minced garlic, spinach till wilted, add cooked peas, cayenne pepper,cumin and cinnamon
Step 2. Add 2 cups of cooked rice.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Step 3. Then saute all ingredients together until heated through.

Service:
Serve fish and rice on a warm plate with dash of paprika and chopped parsley as a garnish on the fish

Cost:
This Barramundi and rice dish can reach your table for about $3 per serving and will meet the family needs for a reasonably priced, excellent tasting, healthy fish entrée.. Our experience is that the Barramundi is still a quality fish even after freezing and transport.

Afterthought: Search for the Barramundi, it is becoming generally available. The recipe will work with any firm white fish. Barramundi is an aboriginal name meaning large scaled perch. There are various names. Barra, giant perch and others but Barramundi is the name being marketed in America

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