Fish Fillet a la pobre

There is a Spanish side side dish of potatoes with some oil and garlic that is referred to as a lo pobre. It is, perhaps, the source of the “style” of cooking something simply, with a minimal of ingredients (oil and garlic). The term, literally meaning “poor” suggests it is something prepared by a person with limited means. In the Philippines, it seems the restaurant Alba’s is credited with taking the term and applying it to steak — and I don’t know if the steak was actually served with a side dish of potatoes. But from that first application to meat, the term a la pobre spawned a whole slew of dishes across the Philippines in the decades since the name was coined. Unknown to most folks used to ordering something in a Pinoy restaurant a la pobre (and yes, its usage, or mis-usage is uniquely Pinoy)… the origins of the phrase refer to the potato side dish, not the steak with garlic… and if you go back to the roots, I gather the addition of onions, knorr seasoning, or even parsley was probably not original. :)

At any rate, I was testing some recipes that would meet the lenten requirement of “no meat”, and decided to try a fish fillet a la pobre style. It was quick, simple and easy to do, and tasted great with a side salad of greens… Of course, you would enjoy this with some rice as well, as we Pinoys are, again probably uniquely inclined to have starch on starch… like pancit or spaghetti with rice, or potatoes with rice. :) To make, use a fresh fish fillet (or defrost a frozen one) of your choice. Pat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper (you may dredge in flour if desired, I didn’t do this). Prepare a tablespoon or two of finely chopped garlic. Parboil 5-6 baby potatoes until cooked, then slice them into fourths (you can do this in advance). Chop up some parsley. Into a fish pan, or other non-stick pan, heat up some olive oil and a bit of butter, then sear the skin side of the fillet for a couple of minutes until just lightly golden brown…

I heated up one of those cast iron sizzling plates and added a knob of butter, then flipped the fish in the pan onto the sizzling plate (the uncooked side now face down against the sizzling plate). Next, add a bit more butter to the pan, add the garlic and saute for a minute or so, add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Add the potatoes, garlic and butter/oil mixture on top of the fish. Serve immediately. If you don’t have a sizzling plate, simply flip the fish over in your pan, remove to a warm plate, and continue with the recipe. This turned out quite nicely for the minimum effort required. If you like garlic, add more. Serve with bread to sop up the sauce, if you like. I thought this was closer in spirit to the term a lo pobre since it was actually served with the potatoes in that style. :)