Steamed Fish on Kale

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(574)
Notes: Read community notes

Many home cooks are comfortable with spinach but are intimidated by the unfamiliar variety of other cooking greens: chard, mustard, turnips, collards, kale and more. But it doesn't matter much which you include in a given dish: they're all good, and they all cook quickly. This preparation is dead easy. You first steam the kale with butter (you could use olive oil, but here it just isn't the same), white wine (water is almost as good) and garlic, until it's just about done. At that point you top the greens with a fillet or two of white fish and continue to steam until the fish is cooked through. Timed correctly, the greens will be tender and bright green and the fish moist. The juices from both will have combined with the butter, wine and garlic to produce a sauce that is great with rice or bread.

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; Rest Your Fins On a Nice Bed Of Greens

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1medium bunch kale, collards or other greens, about a pound
½cup dry white wine (or water)
1 or 2cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
3tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1½pounds skinless white fillet, like cod, halibut, hake, whiting, red snapper or sea bass

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Wash greens and shake dry, allowing some water to cling to leaves. Cut into rough sections, 3 or 4 inches long; cut off and discard any stems thicker than ¼-inch.
Step 2
Put greens in a deep skillet that can be covered, along with wine, garlic, half the butter, and some salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium-high, cover and cook, checking occasionally to make sure mixture does not dry out, until greens are just about tender, 10 minutes or so.
Step 3
Put fish on top of greens, season with salt and pepper, and dot with remaining butter. Re-cover, and cook until fish is done and greens fully tender, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Ratings

5 out of 5

574 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

CKNYC6 years ago

I made this tonight with freshly filleted Dorade from Chinatown, some Choy Sum (Chinese Spinach) and used saké instead of white wine. Because Choy Sum cooks quickly, I skipped pre-cooking the greens, and put all the ingredients together in a deep skillet with a lid, using twice as much garlic and pouring the saké over the top. Cooked at just above medium for 10 minutes: Divine! I drizzled a bit of soy-garlic-ginger sauce on each portion before serving, but it would have been fine without!

tt2276 years ago

I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand but used this technique and it was great. I sliced leeks cross-wise and sautéed them in butter with garlic. After they were softened, I poured in white wine, and layered a bag of baby spinach over the top, with cod fillets over that, and s&p.

I covered it and 5 minutes later had a surprisingly flavorful meal! A squeeze of lemon over it all added a bright note.

Carol6 years ago

Used packaged baby kale from Whole Foods, 5 oz. Cooked 5 minutes before adding 1 lb. cod, then cooked 8 more minutes topped with a little soy sauce. Excellent.

LNP6 years ago

This has been a favorite for years. Often I choose to use the sweetness of Swiss chard in place of kale. This dish never fails. Always helps to brighten at the end with fresh citrus.

ML3 years ago

Flavorful and fast meal. This is an easy to make, healthy, and very shareable dinner. I used kale from the garden and made a olive salsa to put on top of the fish (red onions, tomatoes, capers, olives, and a dash of lemon juice).

Wendy6 years ago

Easy and fast! Added a dash of soy ginger sauce in the last minute. Cut the cooking time on the kale if you like your vegetables on the crunchier side

John Empfield6 years ago

Substituted red chard for the kale and added red pepper flakes with the butter and wine. Added a nice depth of flavor. Also dressed the fish with sweet chili sauce.

Mike6 years ago

Delicious! Didn’t have white wine so I used water with two table spoons of dry Marsala and a few splashes if malt vinegar. Use more kale then you think.

gk in dc1 month ago

Made this for two using 12 oz of arctic char but pretty much the same proportions of everything else. I started by sweating a medium leek than added the kale and followed along. Pulled a few sprigs of thyme from the garden to top the fish for steaming. Honestly I think it was so good because of the layers of butter. Anyway, was on the table in less than thirty minutes. Served with a homemade baguette and a Verdejo which made a weeknight dinner feel fancy.

Cindy3 months ago

I used a combination of turnip greens, mustard greens, and kale. I cooked it in a stainless steel Dutch oven. When I added the fish, I added some more water because the pot had gone almost completely dry. The sauce was delicious.

ASchoen3 months ago

I found the kale to be too sweet.

asek474 months ago

Made with red kale (removed the stems and larger veins) and cod, using a California Chardonnay. Followed the advice of some to add some red pepper flakes at the start, and finish with lemon. Was so simple and delicious. Just had to add a bit extra wine and some water to be sure it wouldn’t dry up. Definitely will make often.

extra5 months ago

Serve with white rice cooked in thick coconut milk, as a luscious creamy side dish next to the kale.

Andrea R.5 months ago

The sauce reduced and concentrated which made the kale super tasty. Alas, this left no spare juice for sopping up or pouring on the fish, which wasn’t very flavorful on its own, and which I overcooked a little. Next time I would add more liquid.

Ryan C11 months ago

Easy and tasty meal. Doubled the garlic and added a healthy bit of herbes de provence to the cooking liquid (also doubled and half wine, half broth. Topped the fish with shaved fennel when it was added to the pan. Paired nicely with: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020395-one-pot-zucchini-basil-pasta

Bob11 months ago

Cook on 7/13/23

Es1 year ago

So easy, so good. Used cod and kale.

CMO2 years ago

Added a layer of chourico under kale- excellent spice!

mjdancy2 years ago

This recipe was simple, healthy, and quite delicious! I liked the idea of "finishing" the fish and greens with an easy sauce that I made with a bit of sautéed ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil. I sautéed the ginger and garlic first, then set them aside in a small bowl. While the fish and greens were steaming, I added soy sauce and sesame oil to taste to the bowl of garlic and ginger. I added a few red pepper flakes for heat. Flavors came together beautifully!

MSB2 years ago

Delicious and so easy, we used chard and kale and served with squeeze of lemon. Don't worry about getting skinless fish. We cooked Arctic char with the skin on and it was fine.

Russ2 years ago

Cooked this with cod and lacinato kale, and hard cider in place of wine. Sprinkled cod with a bit of smoked paprika as well as salt and pepper, per suggestion of another reader. Greens were excellent, fish was very good. Next time put a bit of mashed garlic on top of fish as well as mixed with greens. Served w/mashed potatoes. Super easy and fast prep, excellent result:effort ratio. 5 stars.

Michael McDaniel2 years ago

Simple and delicious. Use any fish, any green, any spice. For example, last time I used broccoli rabe, cod, and smoked paprika. Fantastic.

Anna Jones2 years ago

Delicious. Added soy sauce at the end and splash of lemon juice. Used 1lb of power green mix and it was easy and delicious

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