Spicy monkfish with organic mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and olives

Monkfish coated in Asian-Indian and other spices is ready in 20 minutes when popped into a preheated 400-degree oven with fresh spinach, organic mushrooms, tomato, olives and grated cheese.

Editor's note: Heart-healthy food doesn't have to be boring, as you can see from two easy to assemble dishes -- a quick-cooking Fish & Vegetable Medley, and a sweet-and-savory egg-white frittata.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

My plan to prepare a quick-cooking fish-and-vegetable dish hit a snag last week when my wife went to Costco Wholesale and was told the usual shipment of Icelandic fish hadn't arrived.

That meant the Teterboro warehouse store on Tuesday was offering only farmed tilapia fillets from Colombia, and had no wild-caught cod or haddock.

Plan B was going to the Whole Foods Market in Paramus not far from our home, and seeing if the best fish counter in North Jersey had any fillets on sale for $7.99 or $8.99 a pound -- the usual price for Icelandic fish at Costco.

No luck, but whole monkfish tails, which plump up in the oven and have the texture of lobster, were an easy to swallow $11.99 a pound.

I only needed a pound to make a big dinner for two with fresh spinach, organic mushrooms, fresh Campari Tomatoes and chopped pitted olives.

I coated the fish in Asian-Indian and other spices, which I keep in a container in the refrigerator to bread chicken and beef, as well as seafood.

Then, I assembled the ingredients in a pan lined with parchment paper, drizzling the spinach with extra-virgin olive oil. 

I squeezed fresh lemon juice and sprinkled grated cheese over everything, and put the pan into a preheated 400-degree oven.

Dinner was ready 20 minutes later.

Fresh fish fillets on ice at Whole Foods Market in the Bergen Town Center mall in Paramus.

A Fish & Vegetable Medley I prepared on Dec. 1 began with fresh spinach drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, above.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees while I assembled the other ingredients. 

One pound of monkfish fed two people with leftovers.

For a frittata, you'll need to boil skin-on slices of a medium to large sweet potato until they are fork tender. Meanwhile, prepare a mixture of 16 ounces of egg whites and several generous tablespoons of grated cheese, and pour it into a 10-inch non-stick pan with olive oil heated over a medium flame. Drain and distribute sweet potato slices and fresh Campari Tomato slices in the egg mixture on the stove as the crust sets.

When the crust sets, transfer the pan into the oven, where it will brown and finish cooking under the broiler. Add Costco's Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto when the frittata is cooling on the counter. Cut into wedges with a spatula and serve.