Article by Christine Budd
Blackened Flounder with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients:
Flounder:
4 4-6 oz. Flounder Fillets or any other whitefish
2-3 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Blackened Seasoning:
1.5 Tablespoon Cumin
1.5 Tablespoon Chili Powder
½ Tablespoon Paprika
2 teaspoons Onion Powder
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoons Oregano
½ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Pepper
Pineapple Salsa:
1 pineapple
2-3 avocados
Juice of 1 lime
Small bunch cilantro
½ cup diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Cauliflower Rice:
2 small or 1 large head cauliflower
Chili-Lime Drizzle:
½ cup coconut milk
1 teaspoons lime juice
¼ teaspoons chili powder
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons pepper
Directions:
Make the Blackened Seasoning:
Mix all the seasonings together in a small bowl.
Pineapple Salsa:
Dice the pineapple and roughly chop the cilantro. Quarter the tomatoes and avocado. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season to taste.
Cauliflower Rice:
Chop the cauliflower into bite sized pieces. In batches, pulse in a blender or food processor until broken down to the size of rice. Saute in a pan over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste.
Cook the Fish:
Defrost the fish and pat fry with a paper towel. Optional: Cut each fillet in half.
Drizzle the fish with oil and sprinkle all sides of the fish with about 2-3 tbsp blackened seasoning. Rub the seasoning into the fish to fully coat it on all sides.
Pan fry or grill for about 2 minutes per side over medium-high heat.
Make the Chili Lime Drizzle:
Stir all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Assemble and Serve:
Divide the cauliflower rice among four bowls. Top with the blackened fish, pineapple salsa, and spoon on the chili lime drizzle. Serve with a slice of lime and a few extra cilantro leaves.
Shrimp Salad
Ingredients:
1 ½ lemons divided
2 pounds medium shrimp peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2/3 cup mayonnaise or 1/3 cup mayonnaise and 1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons capers coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 medium shallot minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from about ½ lemon
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 ribs celery diced small
Butter lettuce leaves optional
Directions:
Cut one lemon into wedges. (Reserve remaining half lemon for dressing.)
Prepare ice bath for shrimp.
Bring 2 quarts water, lemon wedges and kosher salt to boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in shrimp and cover; remove from heat and let stand until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to ice bath.
When shrimp are cool, lift out of ice bath with slotted spoon. Pat dry and add to large salad bowl.
To a separate bowl add mayonnaise, dijon mustard, capers, dill, and shallot. Squeeze remaining lemon half over (about 1 tablespoon of fresh juice). Whisk until well combined. Season to taste with pepper.
Add celery to shrimp in salad bowl. Spoon mayonnaise mixture over and gently toss to coat evenly.
If desired, line 6 individual serving bowls or salad plates with butter lettuce leaves.
Divide shrimp salad among 6 bowls or plates and serve.
Notes:
You’ll need 1 ½ lemons for this recipe - one for the shrimp boiling water and another ½ for the dressing.
Instead of serving shrimp salad over lettuce leaves, you can make shrimp salad sandwiches on soft bread (like brioche buns) or make a shrimp pasta salad by tossing shrimp salad with 4 cups of short pasta (8 ounces) like bow-tie (farfalle) or medium shell and extra lemon juice and zest.
Spicy Caribbean Mahi Mahi
Ingredients:
1 pound mahi fillets cut into four portions
5-6 green scallions thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic minced
3 shallots thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 8- oz can good quality tomato sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes depending on how spicy you like it
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 grinds of black pepper
3/4 cup water divided
Juice of half a lemon
Chopped parsley for garnish
Serve with 2 cups cooked long grain white rice - you want the rice to be sticky -- NOT converted rice.
Directions:
In a 9” or 10” skillet with a lid add the olive oil and heat over medium low heat. Add the scallions, garlic and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and translucent, about 10-15 minutes. (Don’t crank up the heat - you don’t want these vegetables to brown).
Add the tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine and continue cooking, uncovered until sauce has thickened somewhat, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup water and place the fish fillets in the poaching liquid. Put the lid on securely and poach the fish on low to medium low heat for about 8 minutes. Using tongs or a spatula, flip the fish over and continue to poach an additional 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish and chopped parsley. Serve on top of sticky white rice. A cool cucumber salad is really good with this to take the heat off.
Notes:
Poaching liquid should be looser than a typical tomato sauce. If it’s too thick, stir in two to three tablespoons of water to loosen it up. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings as needed.
Grilled Citrus Tuna Steak with Avocado & Spinach
Ingredients:
1 tuna steak (ahí or yellowfin)
Pinch of salt and pepper
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp freshly minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime, plus the zest
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
4 cups spinach
Directions:
Season both sides of the tuna with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbs. oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, zest and sugar. Add the fish and marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge.
In a small skillet heat the last Tbs of oil. Add the spinach and wilt slightly. Toss in a teeny pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove the fish from the marinade and grill (or sear) for 2 minutes on each side. Keep it rare in the center. PLEASE!
Pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and reduce until it becomes thick, 2 minutes.
Top the wilted spinach with the grilled fish, followed by the sliced avocado and a nice drizzle of the reduction.
Baked Lemon Sheepshead
Ingredients:
2 lbs. sheepshead fillets
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Dill
Olive oil
Directions:
The night before, place fillets in a ziplock and mix the salt, pepper and lemon juice in it. Let the fillets marinate all night or for at least a minimum of 4 hours before preparing.
Get a baking sheet and aluminum foil and place a little olive oil on it before the sheepshead fillets. Once this is done, place the marinated fillets on a baking sheet on top of the aluminum foil. Coat the outside of the fillets with melted butter. (**Coating should be in a brushing motion not to over do it**)
Carefully chop up onions, fresh parsley, and fresh dill to place on and around the fillets.
Place all the onions and parsley around the fillets and the fresh dill on top. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of the fillets.
Cover your fillets with another piece of aluminum foil making a small covering over the fillets to ensure they will keep the moisture in and not to dry out.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees to ensure proper cooking of the fish. Once the oven reaches this temperature reduce the temperature to 400 degrees and place the fish on the ovens top rack.
Cook the fillets for 12 minutes or until cooked.
After this is done cooking, pair it with your favorite rice and vegetable.
Grilled Cobia
Ingredients:
2 cobia fillets
2/3 cup prepared Italian dressing
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. onion powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
Directions:
Add fish to a small baking dish or ziplock bag.
Pour the Italian dressing over the top of the fish.
Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Marinate for about an hour.
While your fish is marinating, add the remaining ingredients together into a small bowl.
Mix the spices all together. Voila, you have just made your own greek seasoning!
Remove fish about 15 minutes before you grill so it isn’t super cold. Sprinkle the greek seasoning over both sides of your fish. I like to reserve a little of the spices to use after the fish comes off the grill.
Grill your fish at 350° for about 10 minutes, flipping once.
Once the fish turns white, it is ready to remove from the grill. Sprinkle the remaining greek seasoning over the top of the fish.
