Rockfish with Olive Tapenade

I decided to buy fish this week on a whim.  I never buy seafood because it is so expensive, but the grocery had these big, meaty Rockfish steaks on sale and I caved in.  I have been a lover of rockfish ever since we went salmon fishing in Canada with my in-laws.  It was one of my favorite trips...three days of sitting on a flat bottomed boat in thick, bright yellow rain gear, salmon fishing polls dragging slowly behind our wake.  We spent most of our time in mellow estuaries near the shore, but we did spend one morning on the open ocean fishing for halibut.  I didn't catch any halibut, but I did catch a rockfish!  We saw two killer whales that came very close to our boat, and even a gray whale (at least we think it was) swim by.  We ate and slept on a floating lodge that was roped the the shore in a small, calm bay.  The food was amazing...best fish and chips I have ever had since the halibut was caught only a few hours before it was cooked.  I caught three salmon and the previously mentioned rockfish.  Our fish was cleaned at filleted on the lodge, then flash frozen and shipped back to us so we could enjoy it at home.
I'm not sure I had ever eaten rockfish, much less known what it was until I caught one myself.  They are actually very beautiful, colorful fish (mine was orange), however, they are also covered in lots of very sharp spines.  This makes them difficult to clean and fillet, but their meat is firm, sweet, and delicious.
The rockfish I found this week was on sale, so I decided to go for it.  I have been wanting to try fish with olive tapenade for sometime now, plus I was listening to The Splendid Table on NPR and they were talking about fish tacos.  I bought a very large fillet that I decided to cut up in order to have enough meat for two dinners.  I am making fish tacos tonight, so I'll have that recipe up tomorrow!
I would have to say that I really liked the concept of this recipe, however, I misjudged the cooking time on my fish, so I ended up overcooking it.  I did not cover the fish when I baked it, but in hindsight, I would have just to keep the fish from drying out.  I haven't cooked fish in so long that I had forgotten what to do with it.
That being said, the olive tapenade is a really nice compliment to this mellow-flavored fish.  You could use any type of fish: halibut, talapia, or even salmon would work well, even though they all have their own unique flavor.

T.E.A.'s Rockfish with Olive Tapenade
makes 2 servings

2  6 oz fillets Rockfish (or salmon, halibut, etc)
non-stick spray or olive oil as needed

Tapenade

1/2 cup black olives, chopped fine
2 TB capers
juice of 1/2 lemon, plus zest of said lemon
1 clove garlic, minced very fine
1 TB fresh parsley, minced
1 TB fresh thyme, minced
salt as needed

Microplanes are awesome for zesting citrus, or creating perfectly minced garlic!

1. Heat oven to 400F.  Oil a baking dish and set in fish fillets.
2. Add all the ingredients, except salt, of the tapenade together in a small bowl.  Divide the tapenade in half and put each portion on top of the fillets.  Pour any remaining liquid from the tapenade in the bottom of the dish.  Sprinkle a little salt on top of the fish.

3. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 mins (depending on the thickness of your fish...if it is thin, it might not take as long to bake) or until the fish is white and flaky all the way through.

4. Serve immediately.  I served mine with sauteed kale, but this would also be good with rice or even buttered, garlic pasta.

Enjoy! :)