Thursday, March 5, 2009

Spring is coming!!!!! New Fish Recipes - One fish, Two fish, red fish, blue fish

Well come on spring! We have had a wonderful winter of cooking and creating all sorts of new dishes together. This winter we really enjoyed lots of seared, oven roasted and even BBQed fish dishes. Today I am starting a series of feature three new fish recipes with a unique side item to enjoy. As Linda and I continue to work on our cook book (out later this year is the intent) we explore finding ways to eat healthful but with big bold flavors, I think each of the new fish recipes delivers on this expectation. So print one of these out and give it a whirl in the kitchen, make sure you cook with love and from the heart because you can always taste it on the plate!

First Up - Sweet Potato Crusted Mahi - Mahi - a good use for those stored winter root vegetables (you can substitute regular potato if you prefer) . Also I am adding a bonus to this never before seen a Bourbon Butter Glaze to finish the dish off ! Yum! We like to serve this with either Frosted Sweeten Spinach or Braised Swiss Chard - both hearty greens that deliver great flavor from a simple preparation.

Sweet Potato Crusted Mahi- Mahi serves 4

Crusting
1 medium Sweet potato, peeled
½ c Bread crumbs
1 T Fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, parsley)
2 T Olive Oil
To taste Salt & Pepper

Fish
4 each 6 ounce skinless filets, Mahi- Mahi
(substitutions – any firm, low oil white fish such as: cod, haddock, halibut, corvina, grouper)
2 T Olive Oil
To taste Salt & Pepper

Bourbon Butter Glaze

1/4 cup Bourbon

4 tbsp Butter, cold



To make the crusting – use a box grater with larger holes – grate the sweet potato completely.

Place the grated sweet potato into a bowl and add the bread crumbs, chopped herbs, salt and pepper, and mix well. Add the olive oil to form a paste, mix well to incorporate all the flavors.

Pat the fish filets dry with paper towel and place on a cutting board so the side that had the skin on it is on the board surface (usually the darker side).

Brush the filet with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place about 1/3 of cup of the crusting mixture on the filet and spread with fingers, pressing to form an even layer about ¼” to 3/8” thick.

Repeat to crust all filets, then place on a plate and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
To cook: place a large, non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat, add a teaspoon of olive oil and heat. When the olive oil has heated, place the filets crust side down, and allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes until set and golden.

Carefully turn the filets over and cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a roasting or sheet pan.
Place the crusted fish into a 400° oven for 3 to 4 minutes until done – but not over cooked.

General rule of thumb is a total cooking time of 9 minutes per inch of thickness of a fish filet.

Place the saute pan back over medium high heat and add the 1/4 cup of Bourbon be careful it will flame up. Continue to cook until the bourbon is reduced to a bout a tablespoon.

Remove the pan fro the heat and them slowly whisk in the cold butter to incorporate set a side and top fish with a tablespoon of glaze as needed


Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 173 g, servings 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 383 Calories from Fat 184
Total Fat 20.5g
Saturated Fat 4.3g
Cholesterol 54mg
Sodium 208mg
Total Carbohydrates 15.6g
Dietary Fiber 1.6g
Sugars 2.7g
Protein 32.7g
WW Pts. 9