Every Friday during Lent growing up we ate fish. That always confused me because you weren’t allowed to have meat and I’ve always thought of fish as meat. Still, I wasn’t complaining because usually we got fish served like this. This is by far my favorite way to prepare fish. Sure, cooking it in a chili rub and adding creamy avocado is good. But nothing makes fish better than lemon and dill. The best part about this recipe is that you can use any fish; I just happened to grab hake because it was on sale this weekend.

Lemon & Dill Whitefish

Ingredients:

• 1lb any flaky whitefish
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 Tablespoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lay the fish out on a baking tray and rub it with the olive oil on both sides to coat.

Next, pour on the lemon juice along the length of the fish. Generously sprinkle on the dill evenly, too.

Rub in the herbs across the fish. Bake for 15 minutes or until it’s white all the way through. Let the fish rest for 5-10 minutes covered before cutting in. Sprinkle at the last minute with salt.

Making the fish this way just tastes fresh, as if it were caught that morning. Nowadays I won’t be waiting until just Friday’s during Lent to eat fish like this.

You’re also supposed to give up something you love during Lent. I think I’m skipping that part this year, since what I truly love is wheat flour and gluten and all the stuff I can’t eat anyway. And that fast has lasted for a hell of a lot longer than 40 days. If you celebrate Lent, what are you giving up this year? If you don’t celebrate, what do you think you could never give up?

I’m a sucker for a sale. So when I saw sole on sale for 50% off at Whole Foods, my gut reaction was to buy it. Never mind that I hadn’t cooked/ate fish for probably half a year. It was on sale.

When I actually thought about how I wanted to eat it, fried and spicy seemed right. This dish has everything you could want: the fish is a soft; the avocado is creamy; the kale is a little tough and gives it all a bit of a bite. It felt like something you’d order at a restaurant.

Chili-Rubbed Sole With Sautéed Kale And Avocado

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

• 1/2lb sole(or other white fish)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bunch of kale, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 avocado
• Lemon for serving

Cover one side of the fish with half of the chili powder and rub it in. Shake off the excess and do the same for the next side.

In the meantime, heat a large pan over medium-high heat with the oil.

Lay the fish in to cook. After about 90 seconds flip the first side over. Use a wide tool and be careful not to break the fillet.

Cook for another 90 seconds or so until the center is cooked through. Gently remove the fish from the pan to rest but not the oil.

When the fish is removed, add in the kale to sauté in the oil. This is a great time to use frozen kale for a cheap but nutritious option.

Sauté the kale until it’s soaked up the oil and reduced to about half the size. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

To plate, first make a bed of kale. Next add a piece of the fish fillet and season that with a sprinkle of the remaining salt. Cut the avocado in half and then into wedges and lay them down among the fish, serving with a wedge of lemon.

I really really hope this sale goes on for a while.