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Simple Fish and Corn

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September  9, 2011
12 Comments

Simple Fish and Corn

- Amanda

Do you remember my friend Stephen from last summer? He of the S'mores Semifreddo? This summer, he struck again, this time with a fish and corn dish. He served it at an end-of-season dinner party at the beach, and it captured the season so simply, so deliciously, I made it the following night for my family.

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Stephen topped the fish with Julia Child's lemon beurre blanc. I went the lazy-man route and doused the fish with lemon juice the moment I took it out of the oven. You can use any fish you like. I made it with striped bass, and for the photo, we cooked tilapia.

Simple Fish and Corn

Serves 4

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Like this post? See Amanda's post from last week: Peach Tart

Photos by Joseph De Leo

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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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Amanda Hesser

Written by: Amanda Hesser

Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.

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12 Comments

efood September 14, 2011
I made this with cod and found it delightful. Thanks for the idea.
 
The W. September 13, 2011
White fish over sweet corn with cayenne pepper's not quite enough flavor for me, but I like the pile of corn with piece of fish concept. My variation was barramundi marinated with tangerines, dill, shallots and garlic, dredged in egg and flour and fried, over a heap of corn with melted shallots and red bell pepper squares and fresh dill, with beurre blanc poured over.
 
Fifer September 12, 2011
I'm with the previous posters who think that this dish is visually unappealing. I have no doubt that it tastes great, and I too, believe that great food can be simple.... but it should always look appealing on the plate. This just looks bland, like a meal my 3 year old would want, while the adults eat a "grown-up" version!
 
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Amanda H. September 12, 2011
Well, I guess we're all going to have to agree to disagree!
 
teamom September 11, 2011
Boo! And I mean Boo! This dish has no visual appeal. White on white. And the squeezed lemon? Is that your garnish? Who photographed this?!
You all usually do a bang-up good job, but this one just fell through the cracks.
Yes, fish and corn do go well with each other, but not presented like this.
AT LEAST rearrange this on the dish, and add a small side of, well, a tomato salad in a vinagrette. Or greens. Something seasonal, as we're fast approaching the root vegetable time of year. How about a fresh salsa?
I do believe in you, but please, please fix this dish's presentation.

 
Dr.Insomnia September 11, 2011
I'm with on this one. I know it's supposed to be "simple, but this looks like a dish I make on any given day that I wouldn't tell anyone about, let alone publish on the web. For presentation and flavor I'd have at least sprinkled some fresh chopped parsley on the fish, and mixed some with the corn. That would have made the presentation pop more and it would go nicely with the foods.
 
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Amanda H. September 12, 2011
I cooked it and styled it, and I liked the simplicity of the colors and the shape of the lemon. After squeezing the lemon over the fish, I thought its raggedness was beautiful. The point of this post was that sometimes great food can be very simple. When I have a chance, I'm going to add Julia Child's beurre blanc recipe to the post -- it's been a busy week, so may take me a day or two. Then you'll have a slightly more complex version to work with.
 
drbabs September 12, 2011
I was actually attracted to how plain and simply beautiful it was. And also to the notion that this is how we eat in the summer--we grill or broil a lovely piece of fish...serve it with some corn..cut up a tomato. And it's really delicious as long as the fish and corn are both great. What I love about Food52 is that while there are lots of complicated recipes, there are also simple ideas with little twists that make your every day cooking more interesting. (I never would have thought to put cayenne with corn, but the combination of sweet and hot was fantastic.)
 
drbabs September 9, 2011
Made this for dinner tonight. So easy and delicious! (LOVE cayenne and corn together!)
 
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Amanda H. September 9, 2011
Wow, you are fast! Thanks for giving it a try!
 
mrslarkin September 9, 2011
What a beautiful end-of-summer dish! I am lazier-than-tho and will probably skip the steaming step.
 
mrslarkin September 9, 2011
p.s. could we add a spell-check to the comment boxes? ;)