Dry-Brined Fish with Roasted Tomatoes

What do you do with the leftover salt and sugar cure from your homemade gravlax?

Why, make dinner, of course. If you add it to other fish or meat and let it sit about 30 minutes it soaks into the flesh and does a mini-cure. Then you rinse off the cure and roast the fish fillets at 350F for 10 minutes or so, until cooked (chicken breasts or thighs for 20, max).

Or you can just use the salt and sugar as a seasoning and sprinkle it on top of the fish or meat and roast right away and skip the waiting period. But it’s not as good.

What I loved about this recipe was tossing in whatever vegetables I had, and letting the salt and sugar dissolve into them in the oven. So I cubed some potatoes and tossed in some cherry tomatoes (red and green from my garden). The tomatoes burst through their skins and caramelized and crisped in the salt and sugar. The water’s there because the more liquid there is, the less burning.

Dry-Brined Fish with Roasted Tomatoes
4 fillet fillets, with or without skin, but skin is better because the salt and sugar liked it (I used sustainable porgy. Haddock, halibut and turbot are also great. The halibut will take a couple extra minutes to bake)
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or other herb of choice)
1 cup cherry tomatoes (or zebras or zebrinos, or anything smaller than romas—smaller than half a tennis ball)
2 cups cubed potatoes
1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
1/2 cup water

Combine salt, sugar and dill in a small bowl. Sprinkle on both sides of fish, reserving a couple pinches to season the vegetables. Let fish sit 30 minutes. Toss tomatoes with potatoes, oil and remaining salt mixture. Spread in a baking dish. Bake in oven preheated to 350F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and scrape from bottom of pan. Rinse and pat dry fish fillets and place skin-side-up on top of vegetables. Pour water into the bottom of the pan, and return to the oven for 10 minutes, or until fish is just starting to flake. If the fish doesn’t brown on top, put it under the broiled on high for a minute. Done. Yay.