Mahi-Mahi with Tomato, Pepper, and Caper Sauce


Right after David finished eating this dish from Bon Appétit,  he exclaimed “totally and absolutely blog worthy.” I couldn’t agree more. Hailing from Cabana restaurant in West Palm Beach this simple dish packs a lot of flavor and it was incredibly easy to assemble.

What we liked most about this was the sauce – bell peppers, onions, capers, green olives, oregano, cilantro, and tomatoes all under juicy Mahi-Mahi. I took it a step further and served the whole thing (sauce and fish) over Cooking Light’s Creamy Polenta. I highly recommend doing the same if you are going to make this. It really added another layer of flavor and texture to the whole dish. The recipe is not online so I’ve inlcuded it here, heart you!

Mahi-Mahi with Tomato, Pepper, and Caper Sauce – Bon Appétit, March 2011

  • 16 garlic cloves, divided
  • ½ cup plus ¼ cup olive oil
  • 6 8-ounce mahi-mahi or black cod filets
  • 1 large white onion, halved, thinly sliced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 cup sliced large pimiento-stuffed green olives (about 24)
  • 4 bay leaves
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes with puree
  • 1 ½ tablespoons drained capers from jar

Puree 10 garlic cloves in mini processor; transfer to 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Ad ½ cup of oil, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper to garlic; whisk marinade to blend. Add fish to marinade, cover and chill 2 hours, turning fish occasionally.

Chop 6 garlic cloves. Heat ¼ cup of oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic, onion, and next 7 ingredients. Cook until vegetables are soft, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add wine; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with puree and capers; simmer 2 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to skillet with marinade still clinging. Cook until golden and just opaque in the center, about 5 minutes per side.

Discard bay leaves from sauce. Divide sauce among plates. Top with fish. (I also spread a little bit of the sauce on top of the fish and garnished with fresh cilantro)

One thought on “Mahi-Mahi with Tomato, Pepper, and Caper Sauce”

  1. Thanks for posting! I had torn this recipe out to try, and love the idea of serving it over polenta. Your post made it easy for me to pull the recipe into my recipe/meal planning software. This is going to be dinner tonight.. can’t wait!

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