Cilantro pesto for fish

Saturday is fish day at our house, as that’s the day our local fishmonger has fresh fish. We don’t get a huge variety here, but there is usually a choice of Chilean salmon (farmed—ugh—so we’re off that), corvina (not, as many believe, Chilean sea bass; it’s actually a local variety officially know as—wait for it—corvina), giant squid (I really don’t get this—there are always slabs of squid in the market. Why?), merluza (hake), and my favorite, reineta (pomfret). Pomfret (in case you aren’t familiar with it) is a flounder-like flat fish, except the eyes don’t migrate. It is absolutely wonderful to cook with— a good sweet flavor, very forgiving if you overcook it, firm fleshed so it stays together, and generally amenable to everything but grilling. We eat a lot of reineta.

My kids are still in that pesky phase when all sauces are suspect. More than suspect, they’re scary. So I usually either poach or pan fry the fish very simply, and then serve some sort of sauce or condiment for Ed and I.

This cilantro pesto is a favorite. It is very strongly flavored with garlic, green olives, pickles, and vinegar, which provide a good tangy complement to the subtle fish. Here, I battered and fried the fish and served it with ensalada chilena (made with white wine vinegar instead of red) and humitas. Humitas are basically a fresh-corn tamale served throughout summer in central Chile. The wine was a 2007 Sutil Sauvignon Blanc.

A note on cilantro: I used to painstakingly pick out all the stems and use only the leaves. What a waste of time! Small stems are fine and do not affect the texture, so just pick out the thicker stems. Be sure to wash well and spin dry, as it can be gritty (at least in our local markets).

Cilantro pesto

2 cups (packed) cilantro leaves
12 green olives, pitted (about a quarter cup roughly chopped)
1/4 cup chopped dill pickle
2 or 3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cashews
1 slice bread (I use whole wheat sandwich bread, but any will do)
3 TBSP white wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (I don’t usually add salt, as our “unsalted” cashews are actually a bit salty)

Place the cilantro, olives, pickle, garlic, and cashews in a food processor. Cut the crusts off the bread. Drizzle one tablespoon vinegar over the bread; turn the bread over and repeat. Add the bread and the final tablespoon of vinegar to the food processor. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth, adding more oil as needed. Refrigerator the pesto while you prepare the fish, which will allow the flavors to marry.