Not gonna lie, this recipe threw me for a loop.
As much as I love shopping at big box stores like BJ's, I gotta say... sometimes it's a double edged sword. Because reasonably, I only needed enough fish for a Lenten Friday meal, but the bags are so big that one ends up with two dinners' worth of fish. (And don't get me started on those ten pound bags of potatoes.) All the time, I buy from the big box stores, only to find myself having to get creative with what I'm going to make--and the day I found this recipe was no exception.
The thing is, though, that when I think of white fish, I think of those bright, citrusy, herbal flavors, you know? Fresh herbs crushed on top of flaky tilapia, a little lemon over top, things like that. What I do not think of are things like onions, mushrooms, and cheese, of all things. Yet there I was, with tilapia already defrosting on my stove, flipping through Laura and Peter Zeranski's Polish Classic Recipes book just for fun, when I came across a recipe calling for exactly that.
I know, it's unconventional. It's downright unintuitive, even! And yet I'm asking y'all to hear me out, because when I say that it was actually really nice to combine these flavors together on top of a nice, juicy piece of fish, I mean it. Imagine taking all your typical connotations of fish (like the ocean, especially with all the herbs and citrus and maybe things like tomato) and instead switch track to thinking about the forest: a fresh fish caught out of a stream surrounded by thick trees, roasted over foraged mushrooms and wild garlic and onions and whatever else. Believe you me when I tell you that this meal shows you a whole new side of something as simple as white fish!
To that end, the ingredients we'll namely be looking at in this meal are, as you might imagine, the fish, mushrooms, onions, and cheese. Let's take a look at how all of these come together!
Magic in Polish Forest Fish
So as you might know from my previous recipes, there's an overarching theme between things like white fish and dairy: the fact that they're associated with water, the moon, and all things related to both of those ideas, like intuition, dreams, creativity, the subconscious, and more! While many think of creativity like a bright and passionate flame--which certainly holds true as we aim to transform our feelings and thoughts into tangible expression--we can also think that such power starts in the psyche, and so a meal that's so wrapped up in these dreamy, moon-like qualities can be really helpful--especially when combined with things as passionate and aggressive as the onion, and as earthy and recycling as the mushroom.
I mean, think about it, right? Forest fish! Fish that swims in the shadows of the trees, fish roasted atop the fruiting bodies of nature's recycling and decomposition crew! If you were at all feeling blocked in your creativity, not always is it because of lack of inspiration. Sometimes it's those intuitive and psychological blocks that cut off the water from a totally different source. To illustrate what I mean, where you may be trying to fix the pipes leading to your house (the passion and inspiration), it may be all for nothing because the real blockage is somewhere further towards the water source (the emotional and psychological distress).
So in this meal, to make it simple, we have these influences: a lot of moon and water, thanks to all that dairy (cheese and yogurt) and the fish, as well as those baby portobello mushrooms (a type of mushroom representing that end-of-life stage, where all decays to feed the roots of new life). We also have a touch of Mars and fire thanks to the onion (and the cheese, if you chose a spicy cheese like I did). That makes this the perfect blend for rebooting the real source of all inspiration: your emotions and your intuition, your psychic connections!
Polish Forest Fish
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20minutes
Makes 2-3 servings
Ingredients:
1lb tilapia filet
8oz baby bella mushrooms
5oz shredded cheddar*
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
5 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
*Those chipotle cheddars add a little kick and some more Mars energy if you like spice!
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dice and fry onions in oil until transluscent, then add garlic and fry until fragrant.
Wash and slice mushrooms, then add to the pan and cook until the water releases.
Season the mushrooms and onions, then set down in a baking dish big enough for your fish pieces.
Mix melted butter and breadcrumbs.
Put down your fish filets, then top with yogurt, shredded cheese, and breadcrumbs.
Bake for 20min, or until fish is cooked through (you'll know it's done when it's not transparent and flakes easily when cutting it with a fork).
Serve this dish with your choice of vegetables and starch. I recommend mashed or boiled potatoes and something pickled, like beets or sauerkraut!
Again--it's totally not at all the combination you'd expect with fish, and yet it's delicious! Hearty, savory, and so very filling, this meal transports you not to lakes and oceans, but forests and rivers. It'll keep you running for hours, and it's definitely a meal to use when you get tired of the regular white fish flavor profiles. Enjoy! ♥
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Sara Raztresen is a Slovene-American writer, screenwriter, and Christian witch. Her fantasy works draw heavily on the wisdom she gathers from her own personal and spiritual experience, and her spiritual practice borrows much of the whimsy and wonder that modern society has relegated to fairy-and-folktale. Her goal is to help people regain their spiritual footing and discover God through a new (yet old) lens of mysticism.
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