BLUEFISH WITH ROASTED PEPPER, TOMATO & ONION COMPOTE, NIÇOISE OLIVE VINAIGRETTE & BASIL OIL courtesy of Michael Leviton Lumiere, West Newton and Area Four, Boston

Makes 4 servings.

Roasted Pepper, Tomato & Onion Compote

1 red onion, julienned
2 jalapeño peppers, julienned
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 large red bell pepper—roasted, peeled and julienned
1 large yellow bell pepper—roasted, peeled and julienned
1 cup tomato confit, julienned (recipe below)
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil

Cook the onions, jalapeño and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat until the crunch in the onions is just gone.

Drain and cool. Combine the onion mixture with the peppers and tomatoes. Before serving, finish with chopped parsley.

Tomato Confit

1 pound Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and halved
lengthwise
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Toss the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes on a greased rack, cut side up. Place the rack on a cookie pan and cook for 2 hours. Flip the tomatoes and cook for 30 more minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Let cool and then dice.

Niçoise Olive Vinaigrette

1 cup anchovy purée
1 cup garlic purée
Extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup pitted niçoise olives
1 tablespoon capers, finely chopped
2 ounces red wine vinegar
6 ounces extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the anchovy purée and garlic purée. Add enough extra-virgin olive oil to barely cover. Over very low heat, slowly cook the mixture until the flavors have mellowed and the texture is very soft, about 3 hours (this makes more anchoiade than you need, so reserve 1 tablespoon and then store the rest to use later).

Purée the olives and capers and set aside. Combine 1 tablespoon of the anchoiade with red wine vinegar. Slowly whisk in extra-virgin olive oil. Add the olive and caper mix to the anchoiade and red wine mixture and mix well.

Bluefish

4 6-ounce skinless bluefish portions
2 tablespoons canola oil
Fresh lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees.

Over a high flame, heat an ovenproof heavy-bottomed sauté pan large enough to comfortably hold the four pieces of bluefish.

Pat the fish dry then season with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the canola oil to the pan, then add the fish, so the side that had the skin before it was removed is facing
up. Cook until the fish has a nice, relatively even, golden crust, about 3 minutes. Carefully turn the fish over and place the pan in the oven for 3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the fish rest in the pan for about 2 minutes. Squeeze a little lemon over the top of the fish.

While the fish is cooking, you can reheat the compote (it is good at room temperature too) and mix the vinaigrette. While the fish is resting, place a nice spoonful or two of the compote in the center of each of four plates. Top with the fish then spoon a generous amount of the vinaigrette around it. Enjoy with some friends and a nice rosé.