Keto and Paleo Friendly

Fish fans this one’s for you!

This recipe is excellent!  The pistachios are neutral, sweet, bitter and slightly sour in flavor. They effect the liver and kidneys, help clean the blood and lubricate the intestines. Ayurveda labels them a whole body tonic. Garlic is pungent and dispersing. It is antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antifungal. It promotes circulation and sweating (great when you have a cold, aka wind invasion or EPI- external pernicious influence). It eliminates toxins and can be used as a poultice for the symptoms of some boils or juiced/ pressed in olive oil and used as an ear drop for infection. Cooking it does diminish it’s potency but this dish is worth it! Lemons are cooling in nature, sour, astringent and antiseptic. They resolve mucus, benefit the liver, promote weight loss, improve absorption of minerals, and are used to treat the symptoms of high blood pressure, weak blood vessels, thick and poorly circulating blood, support digestion (especially with high fat meals), and are alkalizing. If you are following my Holistic Keto for Gut Health program, and avoiding nuts for 2 months, then tuck this one away for next month. You’ll be happy you did.

Ingredients

Sauce:

  • 1 Cup raw or roasted/salted pistachios
  • 3 Large cloves garlic, or more to taste
  • Juice from half of a large lemon, or to taste
  • 3 Heaping Tbsp of coconut oil, or avocado oil, or ghee
  • ½ Cup filtered water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Variation: Mix it up with Macadamia nuts!

Fish:

  • I prefer a thick white fish for this dish like Cod or Halibut. I know they are larger fish so have the potential to carry higher levels of heavy metals, but I so rarely eat them that I make an exception for this dish. You can also used ethically farmed Talapia.

Instructions

Sauce:

Depending on the size of the fish, you may decide to make more sauce by increasing the nuts.

  • Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend well. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend a little more. The consistency should be pasty, not too runny, not too gloppy, feel free to add more water if necessary.

Fish:

  • Place the fish in a glass or pyrex baking dish. Coat the fish with the sauce, cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish). I used a convection oven, so other ovens may require higher heat, even up to 400 and 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it.

Serving suggestions:

  • It is lovely to serve with a side of mixed stir-fried greens such as lacinato kale, collards, dandelion greens and or red chard. I often do a quick stir-fry of them and add a clove or two of chopped garlic toward the end of cooking.
  • You could also serve with asparagus spears and diced red pepper (stir-fry) and drizzled with sesame oil and sprinkle with white sesame seeds.
  • Place fish on plate with a sprig of fresh parsley on top.

Bon Appetit!