A delicious, fresh, flavorful meal, these Striped Bass Fillets with Tomatoes & Capers are perfect for weeknight dinners or fancy enough for weekend guests!
Nothing says HEALTHY better than Striped Bass Fillets with Tomatoes & Capers. Actually, I would not only say healthy, but delicious AND oh so EASY! Sound good to you?? At our house we have tried to incorporate fish into our diets at least two nights a week. When my boys were younger I do have to say getting them to eat fish was a little tough. They were not really willing to venture out of the box filled with chicken fingers, hot dogs and mac and cheese, especially my youngest, Casey who happens to be even pickier than my husband Tom. As my boys got older and started to fish more during our summers at the Jersey Shore there was just something about catching that keeper and serving it up for dinner that made them want to try it.
I love making fish for dinner because it is a super fast meal that is ready to serve in less than an hour. We may have gotten off track a little with that Cheddar Ale Soup from my last post, but this recipe is going to put us right back on the path to a healthy 2015! This striped bass is baked with a zesty blackening spice and then topped with a tasty, fresh combination of heirloom tomatoes, shallots, capers, and tangy balsamic vinegar.
This recipe also works perfect with other types of mild white fish like flounder, halibut or mahi mahi. So if you are craving a simple, flavorful fish dish with hardly any prep time this one is the catch of the day!
Ingredients
- 4 - 6 ounce striped bass fillets
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt You may prefer less salt, as some readers commented 1 Tbsp. was more than their liking
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup shallots finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. capers drained and rinsed
- 1 pint heirloom grape tomatoes halved
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a baking dish large enough to fit the four fillets with no stick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl combine the salt, paprika, garlic powder, pepper and thyme leaves for the blackening spice. Mix thoroughly.
- Place the fillets in the baking dish. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle with the blackening spice. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the fillets are baking make the tomato and caper sauce. In a nonstick skillet heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-low heat. Add chopped shallots, oregano and capers. Cook 3- 5 minutes or until golden. Add halved tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir. Add butter and balsamic vinegar. Cook 3-5 minutes until bubbly. When fish is done remove from the oven and spoon the tomato caper mixture evenly over the fish.
Ali Stopford
Oh this is stupidly beautiful and I love capers. What camera do you use?
Mary Ann @ thebeachhousekitchen
Well thank you! I use the Canon T3i with 50mm f/1.8 Lens. I am still learning!
Maureen Minker
I will make this recipe this week! Perfect for Florida!
Mary Ann @ thebeachhousekitchen
Would be delicious with some nice Florida grouper too!
Moving Quotes Chicago
Nice post. I used to be checking continuously this blog and
I am impressed! Very helpful info specifically the remaining
part :) I care for such info a lot. I used to be looking for this certain information for a long time.
Thank you and good luck.
Mary Ann @ thebeachhousekitchen
Thank you so much and thanks for following!
Trish
This sounds and looks like it will be delicious! I plan on making this for dinner this week. I would love to know the calorie count if you happen to know?
Mary Ann
It’s one of my favorites! I’m sorry, but I don’t know the calorie count.I hope you enjoy it!
Trish
No worries. I’m sure my hubby and I will enjoy it. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe!
Mary Ann
Thanks Trish! Absolutely!
Paula
Everything was good except the fish was very salty? It states to use 1Tbsp In the blackening spices. I would use a 1/4 of that maybe even less. We drank a lot of water with this dinner. I will make it again for sure just with a lot less salt. Maybe its a typo and it should be a tsp?
Mary Ann
Hi Paula. Did you use kosher salt? The grain size of kosher salt is larger than regular table salt. If you didn’t use kosher salt, I would try it next time with that. I like my spices a little salty, but if you don’t just lower than salt to your liking and enjoy! Thanks for trying my recipe and stopping by to leave a comment!
David Ireland
This was absolutely delicious! But i agree about the saltiness. Even with kosher salt, a tablespoon in this spice mix was too much to our liking. I’m going to make it again for sure, with less salt and add lemon juice. Thank you for the recipe!
Mary Ann
This is one of my favorite dishes to make when my husband catches fresh striped bass. Yes, just lower the amount of salt and the addition of the lemon juice sounds perfect! Thanks so much for following the BHK! And for your suggestions!
Chris Salman
It said “intermediate” skill level, but nothing could be easier. The fish was subtly flavored and PERFECT. I bagged everything in parchment paper.
No bass, so I used trout and compensated for the cooking time.
Mary Ann
So happy you enjoyed it Chris! This is one of my favorites. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
Janet
My brother caught the fish and I cooked it with this recipe. It looked gorgeous and tasted even better! Thanks!
Mary Ann
So happy you enjoyed it Janet!! It’s one of my favorites too! Happy Friday!
Jim N
So simple and so good. I am on vacation in Cape Cod and in this COVID19 era, I brought a lot from my pantry at home to reduce trips out. I was missing olive oil (will fix that tomorrow) and shallot so I used butter , a small amount of finely diced yellow onion and didn’t add the last addition of butter. I didn’t have cherry tomatoes but coarsely chopped a nice summer ripe tomato. The dish with some striped bass from the local fish market was really awesome. With fish keepin it simple is always the best. My smaller piece of striper was done in 15 minutes. I will visit your site again.
Mary Ann
So happy you enjoyed this recipe Jim and made due with what you had. This is one of my favorites when we catch striper at the beach. Thanks so much for following and for taking the time to share your comment. Have an awesome week!
Cynthia Grenier
Our neighbor caught a striped bass and generously shared it with us. I don’t have good luck grilling fish, and I was so excited to find this recipe. It was delicious and so tender, not at all dry. I substituted fresh garlic for the shallot, and didn’t add salt either until the end. I will be making this again!!
Mary Ann
So happy you enjoyed it Cynthia! This is an oldie but a goodie here at the BHK. I think I made need to bring it back!