BAKED FLOUNDER WITH TOMATO SHRIMP SAUCE

In Eastern North Carolina, where I live, fresh seafood is abundant year round. We're spoiled. There's really no reason to buy frozen here. The shrimp sauce for this recipe is delicious and would be great over pasta. It was good over the fish, but I tasted the shrimp sauce and not the flounder. Flounder has a delicate, mild flavor. And when It's fresh, you want to taste it in all its delicate deliciousness. Covering it with a sauce, no matter how good, is superfluous, to say the least. If I had to rate the components of this recipe, I'd give the flounder 10 out of 10 and the sauce 10 out of 10; but together, they get only a 7.5 out of 10. Live and learn.

There was one portion left over, and I heated it up the next day for lunch. Not in the microwave. I use that monster as little as possible. Did you know that microwaving your food totally destroys all nutrients and changes the cellular structure? I heated the fish in a small frypan. It actually tasted better reheated than when it was fresh. But I still couldn't taste the flounder.

Baked Flounder with Tomato Shrimp Sauce

Source: Judy's Kitchen

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 3 plum tomatoes, halved

1 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves grated garlic

1/4 cup dry white wine, drinking quality

1/8 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1/8 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 lb. peeled and deveined small shrimp

1/4 cup fat-free half and half (or cream if you con't care about calories)

2-3 pieces of fresh flounder

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 375F. Place plum tomatoes, cut sides down, on a pie plate that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil. Bake 20-30 minutes, or till tender and beginning to caramelize. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Peel tomatoes and cut into pieces. Pour the juice into a skillet and cook the onions in it on medium for a few minutes, till transparent. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add wine and herbs and let it sizzle. Add chicken broth, bring to a low boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes to develop flavors. In the meantime, pat flounder dry with paper towels; place in the pie plate and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes, or till tender and meat flakes when pierced with a fork. Add shrimp to skillet and cook quickly, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in half and half. Place one piece of flounder on each plate; top with some shrimp sauce; sprinkle with chopped parsley. Yield: 2-3 servings