IN THE KITCHEN : The 50-Minute Fish

One of the easiest mistakes to make in the kitchen is to over-cook a piece of fish. It’s easy to do. Take your eye off the fish for a minute, let it cook just a little too long, and what could have been a moist, luscious steak dries out like an old sponge.

Many methods have been used to determine when fish is done. The most popular seems to be what’s known as the Canadian method, or one of its variations. That rule, developed by the Canadian Seafood Advisory Council, holds that the ideal cooking time for fish is 10 minutes per inch of thickness at 400 degrees. Some say even that is too much, that the real ideal should be more like eight minutes per inch.

But then along comes a recipe like this--a fish dish that cooks for almost eight times as long as it should, and the result is still moist and flavorful. The bottom line here is: You can’t always go by the rules.

The recipe is based on a Moroccan fish tajine from Paula Wolfert’s classic “Couscous and Other Good Foods.” In Wolfert’s original, the fish is bathed in a charmoula marinade--cilantro, paprika, garlic and cumin--and then baked atop a bed of potatoes, green peppers and tomatoes. And baked. And baked. In fact, the fish--fillets, mind you--cooks at 400 degrees for pretty close to an hour.

Actually, this method of cooking reminds me a lot of the way I sometimes cook lamb--roasting it atop potatoes and artichokes so the vegetables get nice and crusty and soak up the savory juices from the meat.

Maybe that was what was going through my mind when I put this adaptation together, or maybe it was just another case of using what looked good. Artichokes are in at the growers’ markets and I always buy more than I can reasonably use, so there are always at least a couple in the refrigerator. And there are those springtime mounds of green fresh herbs, too.

So I ran a bunch of herbs and some green onions through a blender with olive oil and just a bit of lemon. I put this in a work bowl, dipped in some California halibut from the growers market and left it to sit on a plate for a little while to marinate. I got the trimmed and sliced artichokes and potatoes and tossed them in the marinade, too, then tossed them in the bottom of a baking dish. The fish went on top and the whole thing baked. Even using California halibut--a fish that sometimes seems to be so delicate it can dry out in a hot wind--the dish was very good.

But it could have been better using a fish with a higher fat content, to make it a bit moister. So we tried it again, this time using swordfish steaks just a bit more than a half-inch thick. And this time it worked perfectly. Remember, the Canadian method says these steaks should be cooked eight minutes at the longest. But even after more than 45 minutes, this fish was succulent and sweet, with deeply herbal flavors from the marinade. The same tastes accented the artichokes and potatoes, which had cooked long enough to become lightly browned and slightly crusty.

Hey, every once in a while it pays to break the rules.

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After cooking this fish, you’ll have a lot of really great - flavored oil in the bottom of the pan. If you’re watching that kind of thing, toss it out. Otherwise, it makes a great dressing for a plate of orzo pasta to serve on the side.

BAKED FISH WITH POTATOES AND ARTICHOKES

2 pounds fish fillets, preferably oily fish such as swordfish, tuna or shark

Juice 1/2 lemon

Salt, pepper

California Charmoula

4 artichokes

4 Russet potatoes, sliced

Rub fish fillets on all sides with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Pour California Charmoula mixture in large steel work bowl. Dip fish fillets in Charmoula, shake off excess. Set aside on plate to marinate at least 45 minutes.

Trim artichokes by pulling off any leaves clinging to stem and 2 outer rows of leaves around base. Holding artichoke in 1 hand and sharp paring knife in other, turn artichoke, trimming away outer leaves. When outer leaves have been trimmed where yellow bases show, lay artichoke on side and cut away top roughly at where leaves swell out. Set artichoke upside down on flat cap, and divide in quarters lengthwise. Trim away hairy chokes.

Toss cleaned artichokes and potatoes in work bowl with remaining Charmoula and stir well to coat.

Remove artichokes and potatoes, reserving leftover Charmoula in workbowl, and scatter over bottom of baking dish. Lay fish pieces on top of vegetables and seal dish tightly with foil. Bake at 400 degrees 30 minutes. Remove foil, pour remaining Charmoula over all, and return to oven 20 minutes, or until vegetables begin to turn crusty and brown. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

411 calories; 296 mg sodium; 47 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 1.46 grams fiber

California Charmoula

4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 green onions, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint

1 cup olive oil

Juice 1/2 lemon

Salt

Combine garlic, green onions, parsley and mint in blender. Blend well. Then, with blender running, slowly add olive oil in thin stream. Mixture should form thick emulsification. Season to taste with salt.