Oven-Fried Spot with Vegetables

Slice garlic into oil and let it stand for several hours. Rinse and pat fish dry on toweling, cover with lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Peel and slice potatoes 1/8 inch thick and blanch by immersing and swishing in scalding water for 1 minute; drain on toweling. Slice peppers in julienne strips, parboil strips in boiling salted water until brilliant in color, then plunge them immediately in cold water and drain.

Heat the oven to 400°F and butter a baking dish generously and sprinkle with crumbs. Dip potato slices in garlic oil and cover the bottom of the prepared dish with the slices. Sprinkle lightly with one third of the salt, pepper, paprika, green onion, and cilantro. Repeat seasoning with the bell peppers and sliced tomatoes in alternating layers. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 40 minutes. When potatoes are cooked, remove dish from oven and keep covered and warm.

Raise oven heat to 500°F and heat a flat pan large enough to hold the fish. Dust fish with flour and shake off the excess. Remove pan from oven and pour garlic oil 1/8 inch deep into the hot pan. Lay fish in pan, in a single layer, then turn them so both sides are covered with oil. Now, return pan to oven and bake, uncovered, until fish are brown and done. (Use a ratio of 10 minutes per inch thickness of fish to estimate the cooking time.) Put vegetable dish back into oven for last 5 minutes to reheat. Remove foil from baking dish, arrange spot on top of the vegetables, and serve.