Orange Roughy Rocks. I served this versatile dish to some friends the other day. Very fresh is best, but with this treatment, the flash frozen New Zealand wild orange roughy that can be bought at Trader Joe's was indistinguishable from fresh according to my guests. And this will be my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Susan from Food Blogga. And I've chosen ginger as my herb.

Ginger is very spicy and the older it gets the more potent it is. It has been used for motion sickness and for relieving nausea. It has also shown some promise in reducing cholesterol and blood thinning, and has been used to reduce inflammation, such as in arthritis. It has long been used as a folk remedy for treating colds as well.

Ginger has a long history and is used in many countries, and is available year round.

The recipe below makes a very delicate fish dish which can be eaten as is, or paired with a more robust sauce, a recipe for which follows.

Ginger-scented Orange Roughy

6 orange roughy fillets, fresh or frozen
2 large bulbs of ginger
3 green onions
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon vegan vegetable soup base
filtered water

1. Peel the ginger and cut into matchsticks
2. Slice the green onions into little rounds, separating the white blub from the green stems
3. Mix together the white wine and vegetable soup base until smooth
4. In a large covered baking dish, layer ginger and defrosted orange roughy, beginning with a ginger base, then scattering ginger over the top of each layer
5. Pour wine and soup base over layered orange roughy
6. Pour filtered water until liquid is half way up the layers of orange roughy
7. Top with chopped white bulbs of onion
8. Cover dish and bake at 350F for 20-35 minutes, checking after 20 minutes until done. Fish should be opaque, but not dry. Baste if necessary during cooking (depends on your fish, but usually ok with this moist poaching method).
9. Arrange fish on serving plate with some of the juice poured over the top.
10. Top with remaining green onions to garnish and serve with Sesame Ponzu Pouring Sauce

Sesame Ponzu Pouring Sauce

1/2 cup garlic Ponzu sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

1. Pour the Ponzu and sesame oil together in a salad dressing container with a topper.
2. Add sesame seeds.
3. Shake to mix. Shake periodically at the table to keep well mixed.
4. Drizzle over the Ginger-scented Orange Roughy to taste.

In two weeks, Weekend Herb Blogging will be hosted here at Anna's Cool Finds. Check it out!

UPDATE: I've since learned that Orange Roughy is an ecologically bad choice. See: Seafood Watch, and New Zealand's Best Fish Guide. Not to mention it has a mercury advisory. That's two fish problems in my diet this week! We are really overfishing and polluting our planet. Luckily, this recipe works well with other white fish, so choose one from the Regional Seafood Guide, and enjoy! Thanks to my friend Michael for pointing out this information.