Flounder, just your typical white fish

The closest I have come to making flounder is watching the Little Mermaid. Honestly, I really can't tell the difference between the various white fishes... talapia? sole? flounder? What really is the difference between these different fish species after all, at least as far as taste and texture? Anyone? Bueller?

In any event, I set out to cook some flounder today, if for no other reason than I found flounder in my local grocery and it was relatively inexpensive. That, and Martha had an incredible recipe for it on her website.

In general, I am a fan of anything and everything breaded. Throw some crumbs on a frog, bake it or fry it, and I'll eat it. Naturally, therefore, I was drawn to this recipe for Baked Flounder with Roasted Tomatoes. It looked superbly delicious.

I started out with the plum tomatoes, which I sprinkled with tarragon, olive oil, salt and Splenda (instead of sugar... sounds weird, but tastes fairly normal). I baked these in the oven until they were burned onto the cookie sheet - not Martha's instructions, just my idiocy. The burnt skins pealed off and the tomatoes were cooked just fine; now I just need to scrub burnt remains off the metal sheet.

As I can no longer eat white bread, and don't have a food processor, I resorted to making my own bread crumbs by toasting whole grain Ezekiel bread, which is one of the few breads that is pre-diabetic approved. It's not bad when it's covered with plenty of olive oil/margerine/used in recipes but otherwise tastes like cardboard (A side note: Ezekiel cereal is certifiably disgusting. It has the consistency of mush and even with sugar free syrup and cinnamon has the distinct taste of dirt). I crumbled the bread by hand and mixed with salt and olive oil. I spread the fillet with some Dijon mustard and pressed the breadcrumbs on and stuck the concoction in the oven.

The sauce was simple, I used Spectrum Canola Oil Mayonnaise which is DELICIOUS and much healthier than regular mayo. Canola oil is definitely approved for me and as I am obsessed with mayo, I now use this on everything. To this I added a bit of lemon and some tarragon and let it sit while the fish baked.

The meal was filling and delicious. One thing though: I am not a huge fan of roasted tomatoes, I learned. They were a bit too gushy and sweet and something about it just didn't sit right. I think I'll stick with raw tomatoes from now on...

The Flounder I know and love.

RECIPE (courtesy of Martha Stewart, marthastewart.com)

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 6 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for one of the baking sheets
• 3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• pinch sugar
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 slices white sandwich bread (about 1 ounce each), torn into large pieces
• 4 flounder fillets (1 1/2 pounds total)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Place tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon oil, teaspoon tarragon, sugar, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Arrange tomatoes cut side up. Roast on lower rack until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. (Keep oven on for fish.)
2. Meanwhile, make sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, remaining 1/2 teaspoon tarragon, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush with oil. In a food processor, place bread, a pinch each salt and pepper, and remaining tablespoon oil; pulse until fine crumbs form.
4. Lay fillets flat on prepared baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Spread top sides with mustard; sprinkle with bread crumbs, pressing to adhere. Bake on upper rack until fish is cooked through and crumbs are browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve with tomatoes and sauce.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Baked Flounder with Roasted Tomatoes - Martha Stewart Recipes