Flatfish Puttanesca

20260703, #BreakfastDiary 1768, 20°C/cloudy The birth of a new word is far humbler than that. Rather than firing a brand-new brick that never existed, it's much more common to recycle — rearranging bricks that already exist into a new combination. If people called a food that turns sweet right after tasting bitter "bitter-sweet," or called something that's a mix of white and black "black-white," they'd find it appealing. Words like "blackish-red," "sad-funny," and "sweet-and-salty" were born exactly that way. (Kim Jin-hae, There Are No New Words) The spicy, sharp flavor of deseeded, minced red chili and cheongyang pepper quietly creeps up just as it slides down your throat — subtly spicy (subtle + spicy). About 250kcal per serving, Flatfish Puttanesca.

cleaned flatfish, (puttanesca sauce) 1/2T garlic, 1 cheongyang pepper and 1 red chili pepper, 2t anchovy paste, 10 cherry tomatoes, 2t capers, 1T black olives, 2T tomato sauce

1. Pour olive oil into a pan and, over medium heat, sauté 1/2T minced garlic, 1 deseeded cheongyang pepper, 1 deseeded red chili, and 2t anchovy paste until the garlic turns golden. 2. Lower the heat, add the cherry tomatoes, capers, and black olives, and cook slowly, then add 2T tomato sauce and simmer down until thickened. The puttanesca sauce is done. 3. Score the white fish (today I used frozen flatfish, thawed), sprinkle with salt, let sit about 10 minutes, then pat dry. 4. Drizzle olive oil in a pan and sear the fish from step 3 skin-side first, then flip. 5. Spoon the puttanesca sauce from step 2 onto a plate, place the flatfish from step 4 on top, and finish with chopped perilla leaves (my parsley wasn't looking great, so this was the next best thing).

Inspired by @for_thetable