Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Another twist on fish - Shredded Sweet Potato Crust


Fry it, broil it, encrust it, sauce it up - the possibilities for fish are endless.
A couple basic rules for any fish dish:
1) When buying fresh fish, DO NOT be afraid to ask to smell the fish, if it smells “fishy” it is.  Look for clear eyes (when available) not slimy, mushy, dried up.  Now a days many fish are being frozen with great results. Please try to be aware of “over fished” and "at risk" fish when making your  purchase. There is generally a good substitute available with less moral baggage.
2) Breading station requires 3 pans: pan 1) flour (wheat, white, rice)  pan 2) liquid (egg mixture, milk, juice) pan 3) topping (bread crumbs, nuts, fruit) 
3) Play with your food and don’t be afraid to change up the way things are cooked, I will often give a healthy method of cooking (variation on the original) for the recipe.
This full flavored topping is good on many types of fish. Because of the strong flavors of the topping, a stronger, oilier fish can even be used.

Sweet Potato Encrusted White Fish

Fish
Any white fish  - cod or orange roughy (4 oz to 6 oz filets)

Topping 
½ cup peeled and shredded sweet potato per piece of fish
per ½ cup sweet potato:
pinch cumin
pinch tumeric
lemon curd jam (if you can not find raspberry, blackberry, orange jams/marmalades may be substituted)
1/3 egg whisked (approx, binding agent)














Mix; potato, cumin, tumeric, jam and egg together, form into balls which will then be flattened on top of fish
Heat a nonstick sauté pan on high heat with a little bit of olive oil in it
Salt and pepper your fish filets
Press the balls down on to each filet
Carefully lay the filet in the pan topping side down and reduce heat to medium. 
The topping should get a nice crisp crunch to it and cook through approximately 5 minutes. 
Using a spatula carefully slide it under the fish and topping flipping the fish over to finish cooking. For extra thick pieces of fish you may want to finish in a hot oven (approx. 450°)

If have been known to substitute fresh fruit (lemon, orange, lime) segments with a pinch of flour instead of the jam to cut down on the sugar.

In this photo we've served the fish with sauteéd beet greens. I also love it with steamed cauliflower  tossed with some finely chopped mint.

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