White Fish in Tomato Sauce

4.83 from 17 votes

This white fish in tomato sauce recipe is a quick one-pan recipe that is easy to make and is full of flavor.

Prep Time10

Total Time40

Course: Fish

Cuisine: Romanian

Servings: servings

Calories: 273kcal

Author: Adina

Chop the onions and the garlic cloves finely. Chop the pepper into small cubes.
1 medium onion + 3 large garlic cloves + 1 green bell pepper
Saute vegetables: Heat the oil in the pan. Cook the onions, bell peppers, and a pinch of salt until softer, about 10 minutes. If necessary, add a small splash of water after about 5 minutes to help the onion soften. Add the garlic and stir for another minute.
2 tablespoons oil
Add chopped tomatoes and their juices. Add tomato paste, sugar, some fine sea salt, and pepper. Stir well.
2 cans chopped tomatoes + 2 tablespoons tomato paste + 1 teaspoon sugar + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cook the tomato sauce for 20 minutes or until the peppers and onions are very soft. Adjust the taste with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Add white fish: Place the fish fillets in the pan, spoon a little tomato sauce over them, and let them simmer gently for about 5 minutes or longer, depending on their thickness. You should be able to flake the fillets easily. However, don't overcook them (Note 3).
4 white fish fillets
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately with mashed potatoes.
2 tablespoons parsley

White fish: Pollock, cod, sea bass, hake, sole, halibut, tilapia, flounder, or pangasius. The cooking time will remain roughly the same if the fillets are not very thick.
Fresh white fish is great, but frozen fish works well in this recipe, too, even better than in recipes that require searing the fish in the pan. Since frozen fish can be watery, pat it dry between paper towels for 15 minutes before cooking.
If your fillets are thicker (for instance, the middle pieces of cod fillets), they might need an extra couple of minutes of cooking time. The width of the fillets doesn’t affect the cooking time as much as the thickness does.
It's preferable to slightly undercook the fish because it will keep cooking as you bring it to the table. Overcooking can result in dry fish, so make sure not to leave it in the pan for an excessive amount of time.