Notes: To thoroughly clean arugula, first trim roots and tough stems. Wash leaves three times in a bowl with fresh cold water, lifting the arugula out of the bowl after each wash to leave the dirt behind. Dry the leaves in a salad spinner, or pat dry with a cloth.
Ingredients: 4 6-ounce grouper fillets
Salt and pepper [please delete extra spaces below]
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, stems removed
1/4 cup good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch arugula, well washed and dried
1 lemon, halved
Instructions:
1. Up to 1 hour before cooking, season fillets with salt.
2. Heat a dry pan (no olive oil or butter) to medium heat and add cherry tomatoes. Move tomatoes around as they heat up and caramelize slightly. Once tomatoes are hot (3–5 minutes), add 1/4 cup olive oil. This will cause the tomatoes to pop open; be careful as they sometimes splash hot tomato juice. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper and let it stew for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Heat a separate large frying pan for the fish. (If your pan is not large enough for all four fillets with some space between each, cook in two batches.) When your pan is very hot, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan surface. When the oil starts to smoke lightly, add fillets and cook, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Jiggle the pan a bit to keep fillets from sticking. (If they do stick, don’t worry, just try not to move them until you’re ready to flip them.) When they reach a nice golden brown, flip and cook them for a minute or two on the other side. Set aside and keep warm.
4. Place arugula in a bowl. Squeeze one of the lemon halves over the arugula. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil and toss. Dish tomatoes and arugula onto four plates. Place grouper on top of tomatoes, golden-brown side up. Squeeze remaining lemon half over grouper and serve.
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