i have a new found appreciation for fresh fish. i’ve always found it delicious, but after fishing for the first time this past weekend i now understand all the kind of gross things that need to happen to get that tasty treat to my plate.
i know it isn’t really gross – the worms and the gutting and the scaling and such – but it’s a little daunting to actually be the one doing it. okay, in full disclosure, i did not touch the worms, the fish when it was still alive, or basically anything other than the fishing pole. but i did catch a fish (the biggest sunfish jason and his dad had ever seen, i thought they were just humoring me with their oohs and aahs but when his aunts and mom had the same reaction i realized i am quite an accomplished fisherwoman). jason had to tell me multiple times that the fish are not disney characters and i needed to stop thinking of back stories for them. this became significantly easier once they were filleted.
we caught those fish friday afternoon and pan fried them for saturday morning breakfast in a little egg wash and flour. simple, fresh, and very good.
then i bought this large ruby red trout and some sweet potatoes. we prepared the trout in a similar fashion, with a little flour, cayenne pepper and salt crust. the sweet potatoes were boiled, mashed, and mixed with rosemary, cornmeal and parmesan before being baked.
together with a little bit of greens and lemon, this dinner is light and perfect for a humid summer night.
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 tablespoons cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 lb ruby red trout (or other light, flaky fish)
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Reheat oven to 450.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in cubes and cook for 10 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft. Drain and let cool for a couple of minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes, cornmeal, parmesan and rosemary.
- Mix until potatoes are well mashed.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a spoon to scoop 1 to 1½ tablespoon sized dollops of the sweet potato mixture onto the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with a little bit more parmesan.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Cut fish into portion sizes.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron pan until very hot.
- Mix together flour, cayenne pepper, and salt. Dip fish into milk and then into flour mixture and immediately place onto pan, skin side down.
- Cook for 2 minutes and flip to other side for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
3boarder
writes 1vatican