Ocean Perch with Orange Sauce

Sauces are one of the easiest ways to give a plain meal a little pizazz! You could serve the same meat, poultry or fish every day for a week yet simply by using different sauces each meal would be very different. I make a lot of jams and jellies but surprisingly we very seldom use them as spreads. Instead they are used as sauces, fillings or ingredients in other dishes. I've mentioned here that I'm a huge fan of breaded fish so on one occasion we were eating at the restaurant owned by friends when I asked for the fish pan fried instead of being coated. It came served with a lovely orange sauce that I immediately thought I should make a few jars of orange jelly to have on hand as a sauce for fish.

Ocean Perch with Orange Sauce

The orange jelly has a firm texture so if the jelly is dumped out from the jar it could be cut with a knife. Using Pomona's Universal pectin means the jelly is low sugar as well. Spenda® can be used in place of sugar in the jelly recipe if desired. To use as a light refreshing sauce the jelly is warmed in the microwave oven until pourable. Orange sauce is wonderful for any light tasting whitefish that has been either broiled or pan fried. It enhances the flavour of the fish without overpowering it.

Wednesday night I made pan fried ocean perch (as opposed to our normal local perch) with orange sauce served with cucumber slices and steamed potatoes as sides. I garnished with a tangerine wedge in place of a slice of orange because I didn't have oranges (need to go shopping). The fish was pan fried and seasoned lightly with garlic pepper. The orange sauce was simply spooned over the fish. Steamed potatoes are one of our favourite sides because they are easy to make, low calorie and they have a nice firm texture. The entire meal was light in calories yet filling. Rice would work well in place of potatoes.