Mahi Mahi with Tapenade

This dinner came together very quickly!  I had some Mahi Mahi that I had thawed and really needed to use up.  I usually like to make the Mahi Mahi with Coconut Curry Sauce, but we'd had that a couple weeks ago.  I needed more inspiration....

So, in the fridge, I see all these half full jars of olives, green olives (stuffed with garlic), kalamata and even a couple fillets of anchovy.  I love the salty, briny flavors of a tapenade, so serve it with a fish dinner.... why not?

Mahi Mahi has the nice firm texture, like halibut or tilapia (which both also work in this recipe) and the fish could hold it's own against the strong flavors of the tapenade.

This Tapenade would be great with lots of dishes, or appetizers, so don't leave it just for this dish. While I normally love most everything with anchovies in it, when I make this again, I will probably leave them out, the tapenade just doesn't need it. A food processor makes this job short work, if you have to do it by hand, chopping all the items, it's going to take you a while. I don't recommend it personally...



Serves 4
Ingredients

4 mahi mahi steaks, (halibut or tilapia works too)
2 Tbsp olive oil
18-20 kalamata olives, pitted
18-20 green olives (or 10 big ones)
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh parley
3-4 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/2 lemon, juiced
Fresh Ground Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

On a baking sheet with edges, or other dish, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and coat the fish fillets on all sides.  You can give it a bit of fresh pepper, but it doesn't need salt... the tapenade is going to provide all the salt you need!

Bake the fish on 400 for about 8-10 minutes... you should just begin to see some 'whitish' juices on the edges.

While the fish is baking, make the tapenade.

In a food processor, add everything except the fish.  Add the additional 1 Tbsp of oil too. 

Pulse the processor until you get a nice texture... don't over do it. But IF you do, some tapenades are served smooth... but it won't look too nice!