Oven Baked Flounder with Pistachio Pesto & Ancient Grains
This is one of those dishes that I made up when I saw one ingredient at the store and thought, “Let’s have fresh fish tonight.” I got home, opened the fridge and the pantry and thought, “Ok, what will go nicely with this beauty?” In the pantry, I found pistachios nuts but not enough. I added pumpkin seeds. In the fridge, there was fresh basil. So let’s do a take on pesto. Ancient grains, canned tomatoes and vegetable stock. Dinner was sorted in about 30 minutes. Go on give this recipe a try or get creative with what’s in your kitchen. Enjoy!
Oven baked flounder with pistachio pesto and accent grains
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios nuts
2 tablespoons chopped pumpkin seeds
1 lemon, juice of
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups ancient grains
4 cups low in sodium vegetable stock or water
1 can diced low in sodium tomatoes
4x 4oz to 6oz pieces of flounder
Pre-heat oven to 385°F
How to make:
In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of oil, chopped basil, pistachios nuts, pumpkin seeds and the juice of one lemon, season to taste.
Place a medium size saucepan on the stove over a medium heat, add the grains and stock. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the grains are tender. Finish by stirring in the can of diced tomatoes.
Line a sheet pan with foil, brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over the foil. Place on the flounder fillets, season with salt and pepper and lightly brush with any remaining oil. Pop into the oven for 8 minutes, then spread the pesto over each fillet and continue to cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes or until the fish is cooked to your liking.
To serve, divide the grains between four warm plates and top with a portion of flounder. Serve with a nice big green salad or a selection of roasted vegetables. Enjoy!!!!!