Pesach Pescado Plaki (Passover Fish Plaki)

This recipe was inspired by the recipe for Fish Plaki that I found in one of my Greek cookbooks.  We were fortunate to be able to travel to Athens over the 2005 Thanksgiving holiday, and I can tell you it is impossible to get a bad meal in Greece.  It was a delicious vacation, and the sights were pretty incredible as well.

Cory and Mom at the Acropolis - November, 2005

Since tonight is the first night of Passover, I developed a dish which celebrated the flavors of the Mediterranean and the contents of my refrigerator, while comporting with the rules of Passover eating.  Matzoh makes an awesome stuffing, just as matzoh meal works better than breadcrumbs in making a delicious meatloaf.  You might remember the old commercial "you don't have to be Jewish to eat ..."  I can't remember if it was Jewish rye bread or Hebrew National hotdogs, but you get the idea.

To seed a tomato, cut in half crosswise and very gently squeeze out the seeds and liquid membrane

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup butter
2 large onions, halved crosswise and sliced
3 large stalks of celery, including leaves, roughly chopped
5-6 mini peppers (red, orange, yellow), chopped; if you like heat, you can substitute one small jalapeno for one mini pepper
2 carrots, chopped
5-6 large cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1 very large or 2 large ripe tomato (preferably ugli or ugly ripe), seeded and chopped
a few drops of green (jalapeno) Tabasco sauce (entirely discretionary)
3 boards of regular Passover matzoh, broken into very small pieces
1 egg, at room temperature, beaten lightly

Kosher salt
Coarse black pepper
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
Dried oregano
Granulated Garlic
Paprika
Additional butter for pan

6-7 fillets tilapia

1/2 cup white wine

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and oil in a large saute pan.  Add the onions, and season with salt, pepper, and Greek seasoning.  I added a touch of sugar, but that's me. Saute the onions in the oil and butter until soft.  Add the celery, peppers, carrots, garlic, and tomato.  Simmer until liquid has been released and reduced.  Do not allow all of the liquid to evaporate.  Taste and adjust your seasonings, and if you are using the green Tabasco, add it now.

Add the broken matzoh to the vegetables, and stir to combine.  Check your seasoning again, and if you like, you can also add a little granulated garlic, oregano, and/or paprika in addition to the other spices.  Take the pan off the heat and let the stuffing cool a bit.  When it has cooled, quickly stir in the beaten egg. 

Grease a baking pan with butter.  Place the tilapia fillets in the pan and sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, oregano, granulated garlic, and paprika.  If you have a little butter left from greasing the pan, use it to dot the fish.  Divide the stuffing equally on top of each fillet.  Pour the wine and lemon juice around and on the fillets, and sprinkle the stuffing with a little paprika.

Bake for 45 minutes until the stuffing is set and beginning to brown slightly, and the fish flakes easily.  As my son just told me, this is "fantastic" and "seder worthy."  High praise indeed.  I hope you enjoy it as much as he did.

Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.