orange roughy with braised mustard greens and potatoes

i'm always looking for ways to cook fish. for some reason i have an aversion to cooking fish. call it a lack of confidence or whatever, but i have it stuck in my brain that fish is hard to cook.

perhaps it's how i was raised: fish is steamed whole for about 10-12 min in a large wok and a hot flash soy sauce with scallions, ginger and sugar is poured over the fish at the last second before serving. too long in the steamer and your fish is tough. too little and it's inedible. the texture must be soft-firm, slick. the sauce must be slightly sweet and complement the fish's flavor.

ugh. no wonder. all those minute details and requirements. hence i've tried to experiment with fish over the last year. it really is much easier than you think. even a simple pan fry technique using salmon or whitefish yields excellent, quick results. just don't overcook. or oversalt. or... ah nevermind. check out this great recipe i adapted from saveur magazine's classic american special issue. originally entitled "cod with braised kale and potatoes," i substituted orange roughy for cod (both are hearty, firm-fleshed, white fish) and flat mustard greens for the kale (since i had a huge bag of it sitting in the crisper).

always substitute when you can to 1) use up leftover ingredients in your fridge, and 2) avoid another trip to the store. plus substituting really helps you learn how different ingredients come together (or not).

soften 1 lb leeks (white part only, well-rinsed of dirt) and a few minced garlic cloves in some evoo over low heat in a large saute pan.

add 1 lb new potoates that have been sliced in half.

let brown a few minutes, don't let the garlic burn, and then add "a lot" of greens to the pan.

they'll cook down quite a bit so don't worry about overcrowding the pan. add a cup or so white wine to deglaze the pan and clamp a lid down for 15-20 min at low heat (you'll want to check up on the pot and stir the greens a couple of times).

during that time, slice 1 lb or so orange roughy into large chunks and season with salt. brown in a non-stick pan until golden on each side. don't overcook.

add the fish to the greens and gently combine with some freshly chopped parsley.

season the pan generously with salt and pepper and plate.

i think if i'd used a better wine this would've been even better. but as is, the greens and leeks soaked up the wine and the slight bitterness of the mustard greens complimented the natural sweetness of the leeks. potatoes were also tender and meaty. the fish itself was moist and meaty too.

very good. i'd do this again.

now that wasn't very hard i must admit. and if you think about it, the fish itself was simply pan-fried for a couple minutes and tasted great. i used trader joe's frozen orange roughy. seems a lot easier than my mom's steamed fish technique and it's a one-pot dish too which makes for easier clean up! oh and this was for 4 servings, so that means i have 3 meals left in my fridge right now. yum.