Mushroom-Stuffed Ocean Perch

I bought a huge bag of mushrooms last week.  It’s a good thing that there is so much you can do with these fungi, and they taste so good. Or else sitting there and brushing all the crap off them would not have been worth it.

What did I do with these mushrooms? Chopped them up with some celery and stuffed them into a big fish. (And I only used half a bag. I should have stuffed two.) This turned out pretty nicely, because the tastier flavor of the stuffing really accents the fish (if you happen to find fish a little bland, I don’t really, but sometimes it also depends on the fish). Next time I think I’ll try a spicy stuffing.

To stuff a fish, you need a large, whole fish (2lbs or more) with medium-firm to firm flesh. To me for some reason that usually means something that is red … like a red snapper. Fish with delicate flesh like cod or tilapia are probably not be the best choices. These fresh, red ocean perches were on sale at T&T, so I bought one that was a little over 2 lbs. Now, if you or people you are feeding are finicky about whole fish (*sigh* Why), go ahead and buy thick fillets. But the effect isn’t quite the same, is it? Anyway, buy whole fish, and have your fish monger clean, scale, gut and cut it.  

 Recipe follows…