Homey. Comforting. Sane.

There has been a lot of buzz over at the CLBB the past few days over a Lemon Lentil Soup with Spinach first posted by Alysha from The Savory Notebook. After last night's cooking debacle, this sounded like just the right thing to have for dinner tonight. Brightened with lemon and tomatoes, and redolent of garlic, this soup is loaded with antioxidants. To top it off, dinner would have been ready in less than half an hour if I hadn't been playing around with a Sara Moulton recipe for roasted cauliflower, then at the last minutes decided to make some Parmesan garlic bread wiith the leftover Roasted Garlic Cloves I made last night. Then, I decided to pull out the Oven-Roasted Tomatoes I also made last night, which I don't think I even mentioned in the rest of yesterday's saga. Then I sat down on the couch, with my husband on one side and two dogs begging for scraps on the other, and simply ate dinner. Aaah....bliss.

Hawaiian Sunfish with Cherry Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic and Olives

Copyright 2006, The Stinking Rose Restaurant Cookbook

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tilapia filets (5-7 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes in various colors, halved
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
¼ cup roasted garlic cloves (from The Stinking Rose Restaurant Cookbook)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over very high heat until the surface shimmers. Season the fillets with salt and pepper on both sides and sear for 2 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned on the outside and opaque throughout. Transfer to a warmed platter.

In another skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and sauté the cherry tomatoes, olives, and roasted garlic for 1 minute to heat them through.

Spoon the tomato mixture over the fish and sprinkle with the basil. Serve immediately.