Oven-Baked Pollock in Tomato-Vegetable Marinade

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather everything on the list. Pollock is usually sold frozen, so thaw it first. The amount of onion and carrot is flexible — some folks like a lot of saucy vegetables, others prefer less, so adjust to your family's taste. You can swap the tomato paste for tomato sauce or canned tomatoes in their juice. Have a skillet and a baking dish ready.

2. Step 2:

   

   Peel and rinse the onions and carrots. Chop the onion however you like and grate the carrots on the coarse side of a box grater. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and cook the onion until translucent. Add the grated carrot and cook everything together over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are soft.

3. Step 3:

   

   Stir the tomato paste into the warm water until smooth and season with salt to taste. Pour it over the vegetables, then add the black peppercorns, allspice, and bay leaf. Stir and simmer everything together for about five minutes, then turn off the heat.

4. Step 4:

   

   Rinse the thawed fish under running water. Snip off the fins and tail with kitchen shears. Remove the insides and the dark membrane, then rinse again. If the head is still on, cut it off. Cut each fish into small serving pieces and pat them dry with paper towels.

5. Step 5:

   

   Mix the flour with a little salt. Heat a skillet and add vegetable oil. Dredge each piece of fish in the flour on all sides and lay it in the hot pan. Fry the fish on both sides until lightly golden, just a couple of minutes per side. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

6. Step 6:

   

   Spread about a third of the marinated vegetables over the bottom of your baking dish. Arrange the fried pollock pieces on top in a single even layer.

7. Step 7:

   

   Spoon the rest of the vegetable marinade over the fish, cover the dish with foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 35–40 minutes.

8. Step 8:

   

   Carefully take the finished pollock out of the oven and remove the foil. Plate the fish pieces along with the sauce and vegetables. It's great on its own — good both hot and at room temperature. If you'd like a side, mashed potatoes or rice pair perfectly with pollock in marinade.