Baked Fish With Tomato Basil Sauce

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! Weddings are an excellent time. Not only for the people in attendance, for the couple in question as well. How do I know this? Simple. I got married!

In the summer of 2017, after a whirlwind romance, complete with inter-city travel, clandestine meetings, battling stubborn parents, dancing around trees with 7 costume changes (Okay, maybe I embellished that last one. It was only 3 changes.), Ball-and-chain and I finally got married. On the evening of the wedding, in my baraat, I sat stoically astride a gorgeous white mare, resplendent in the traditional garb of dapper sherwani, flowery sehera, and soon to be stolen juttis (or jootis if you prefer). The sehera dangling across my freshly de-whiskered face concealing the pained expression brought upon by the saddle I was perched on. The  very saddle that was strapped to my nervously twitching mare, causing it to rub uncomfortably against my posterior. All around me, family, friends, and relatives were dancing with gay abandon to the tunes being belted out by a brass band, oblivious to the amused looks thrown their way by people passing by. Up on my high horse (quite literally), I was joined by my nephew who was playing the role of my sarbala. The frenzied dancing continued for another half hour after which everyone popped indoors to 'cool off' leaving me waiting in the car (the ceremonial horse had been taken away once the dancing had ceased). A point to remember here is, while Punjabi weddings (a multi-day affair) are well known for the free flowing alcohol, drinking on the day of the wedding is a no-no owing to the fact that a holy ceremony takes place on the day. However, a no-no doesn't expressly say it is forbidden, which basically translates to, 'Get hammered, but don't make it obvious lest you hurt somebody's sentiments'.

After what felt like an eternity (you can't rush the cooling off process!), we set off to the hotel that was our wedding venue. After another half hour of frenzied dancing at the hotel entrance, our family was met at the door by the representatives of Ball-and-chain's family where after the milni (meeting of the family elders), we were ushered into the wedding hall. I was seated on a couch on a stage to await the arrival of my soon to be wife. She walked in, prettier than a picture, flanked by her brothers and took the seat by my side. What followed was smiling (till our faces hurt) for the photographer as people queued up to wish us the best and then wandered off to either get dinner or to head up to my cousin's room which had been granted the priviledge of doubling as the secret booze room. The line seemed never ending and we were getting hungrier by the minute until my heroic cousins stepped in. One cousin, arms laden with food stood solidly between us and the photographer and made sure we ate until we felt better, the other, handed us little bottles of water with a wink. Confused, we took a sip and discovered that he had filled the bottles up with white wine allowing us to drink undetected until it was time for the pheras. Buzzing, we sat down in the mandap and between pouring ghee into the fire when asked, my tipsy Ball-and-chain and I giggled and had a mini duel with the long spoons. Not long after, we had completed the pheras, finished the post wedding rituals, and were offially hitched! It was 3 a.m. at this point so we did the most logical thing we could. We went up to the secret booze room, ate leftovers, and played Uno with our siblings and cousins until we retired to our own quarters.

As far as this recipe is concerned, the great part about it is that you don't need to smuggle the wine in like contraband, you can pour it straight from the bottle!

For my Baked Fish With Tomato Basil Sauce, you will need the following:

Salmon	4 fillets
Garlic	3-4 cloves
Cherry tomatoes	250 gms
Basil	big handful
White wine	1 cup
Sugar	to taste
Salt	to taste
Olive oil

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (c).
2. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
3. Chiffonade the basil. (That's a fancy way of saying stack the basil leaves on top of each other, roll them into a fat cigar, and slice them. That way you get really pretty basil ribbons.)
4. Mince the garlic.
5. Top the salmon fillets with about 3/4th of the minced garlic, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Method:

For the fish:

1. Plop the prepped fish on an oven tray.
2. Open the over door.
3. Shove the tray in.
4. Shut the oven door. (Takes about 10 minutes.)
5. Begin making the sauce.

For the sauce:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Drizzle in some olive oil.
4. Slide in the halved tomatoes, skin side down.
5. Sprinkle on some salt.
6. Cook until they soften and the skin gets crinkly.
7. Toss in the rest of the garlic.
8. Flip the tomatoes to cook them on the other side.
9. Toss in most of the basil. (Reserve a little for the garnish.)
10. Pour in the wine.
11. Bring to a boil.
12. Drop to a simmer.
13. Sprinkle some sugar in to balance the sourness from the tomatoes. 
14. Test for salt.
15. Turn the gas off.

To serve:

1. Turn off the oven.
2. Open the oven door.
3. Get the fish out.
4. Shut the oven door.
5. Grab a nice white plate.
6. Place the fish on.
7. Spoon over the sauce.
8. Garnish with the rest of the basil.
9. Serve with garlic bread, salad, or whatever you feel like. 
10. Stuff face.
11. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: I prefer salmon for this dish because I love the flavour, and how it flakes once you've baked it. You can use any fish you want as long as it doesn't taste too strong. Also, basa is useless. Stop buying it.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!