We tend to think of grilling as the ideal way to cook many foods, but the broiler is more valuable when you want to save a marinade and the fish’s pan juices. A recipe like this one was originally cooked in a pan over an open fire, and you can certainly follow that tradition, but the broiler makes quick work of it. Though the dish is French, it’s very southern, and I might serve a simple pasta beforehand; Tomatoes Provençal (page 494) would also be in the right spirit, as would a simple salad.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　One 3-pound sea bass, red snapper, grouper, or sturdy white-fleshed fish, gilled, gutted, and scaled, head may be on or off

　　3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　1/4 cup dry white wine

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves

　　1 teaspoon fennel seeds

　　1/2 cup or more pitted black olives

　　Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

　　Lemon wedges for serving

　　

Step 1

Preheat the broiler; adjust the rack so that it is about 4 inches from the heat source. Cut 3 or 4 gashes on each side of the fish, from top to bottom. Mix together the oil, wine, salt, pepper, thyme, and fennel in a baking pan large enough to accommodate the fish. Put the fish in the pan and rub it with the oil mixture.

　　

Step 2

Broil the fish, adjusting the distance between it and the heat source so that it browns evenly but not too quickly. Try to turn the fish only once; total cooking time will be approximately 15 minutes.

　　

Step 3

When the fish is done, transfer it to a platter. Working quickly, add the olives to the pan and cook on the stove over high heat, stirring, for just a minute, to heat them up and combine them with the pan juices. Spoon or pour the olive sauce over the fish, garnish, and serve with the lemon wedges.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.