A Fish Recipe Peg Bracken Might Like

If anyone's old enough to remember the original I Hate To Cookbook (1960; revised and re-issued 2010), you know that the criteria of her recipes remained:

(1) What's easiest

(2) What's lying around within reach--you should neither have to go to the store nor walk to the other end of the kitchen.

(3) Whatever ensures that the family won't complain.

(4) Liberal dollops of Bracken's wit.


I can provide the first three, but you'll have to pretend that Bracken would somehow have been interested in a non-artery-clogging, sustainable-food, fresh as opposed to frozen or canned, way of life.  Which she wasn't, not one bit, but when I feel like a cake that tastes like one, or a really creamy dish, I resort to her immediately.

But this doesn't go the butter-salt-sugar-mayonnaise route.  This is just easy:

Ingredients:

Three 200-gram (about 7 oz, or a bit more) slabs of fresh salmon (another fish will do, too)

Seasoning of your choice (I used garlic salt; you can use Lawry's, Mrs. Dash, fresh basil, or the herb of your choice.  Anything from Oil&Vinegar is fine)

Three or four fresh red (or yellow, or orange) bell peppers.


1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC or 350ºF

2. Slice big pieces of pepper and lay flat on pan--enough to go under the fish.

3.  Lay fish on top (probably best to rinse and shake dry first).

4.  Sprinkle on the garlic salt, or the seasoning of your choice

5. Lay more broad pieces of pepper on top of the fish.


Bake for about 25 minutes--turn on whirling heat at the end if you like.

I served this with steamed broccoli and snow peas.  And we all would have lost weight if we hadn't chased this perfectly sensible meal with a cheese course, wine, and a hunk of chocolate.