Halibut “Puttanesca”

As you may have noticed, we’re eating a tad more than average amount fish (or at least more than average for us). One of the main reasons is that I signed up for a fish subscription, which has been slightly less overwhelming and a lot more fun that I expected. We’re getting a lot of variety and, with some minor bumps along the way, I’m learning all the different ways to prepare and dress up fish.

One thing I haven’t quite figured out is how to manage leftover fish well. We get four portions of each fish, and there are two adults and the baby - and although she eats a LOT (mostly blueberries), she’s not quite up to adult portion size yet. So we end up having a couple of portions left, and reheating in the oven or in the microwave doesn’t seem to do it justice. (Any thoughts on this would be well appreciated in the comments!)

This week’s delivery was halibut. I was pretty excited because this is a fish I have a bit of experience with, which I couldn’t say for the porgy or skate or catfish we’ve received in other weeks. Halibut is a pretty firm white fish that doesn’t get incredibly delicate and fall apart when cooked, although it is fork-tender. It’s pretty mild and sweet as far as fish goes, and it stands up well to strong flavors.

I’ve been playing a lot with Mediterranean flavors, so I decided to throw a classic set of strong Mediterranean flavors at it and I ended up pretty pleased with the result. I pan seared the halibut to get some color, and then made a quick pan sauce with green olives, garlic, anchovies, capers, and white wine. It smelled amazing - stop and put your face over the pan and breathe amazing. I turned the fish in the sauce, garnished with a little lemon and parsley, and there we had it - dinner.

I’ve been kind of thinking of this as a halibut puttanesca… it’s got all the flavors, minus the tomato. Tomato actually wouldn’t be out of place here, but I found this delightfully briny and satisfying as is.

This recipe is easily modified to suit your tastes - just include a little more of this or a little less of that. I used a green olive, Castelvetrano, but this could be good with black olives, too. If you’re opposed to anchovies, this would still be pretty tasty without them - but they do add a depth of flavor, so give them a try if you’re up for it.

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Halibut “Puttanesca”

Servings: 4 | Time: 30 minutes | Inspiration: The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook

• Halibut fillets - 1.5 lbs

• Olive oil - 3 tbsp

• Anchovy - 3 fillets, more or less to taste

• Garlic - 2 cloves, minced (about a tablespoon)

• Capers - 1 tablespoon, drained

• Green olives, like Castelvetrano - 3, pitted

• White wine, dry - ½ cup

• Lemon juice - 1-2 tsp, to taste

• Lemon zest, parsley or chives, for garnish

Season halibut with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat a medium-large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil. When oil shimmers, add halibut to the pan, working in batches if needed to give the halibut space. Sear both sides of the halibut, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove halibut to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to medium. In the same pan, add the anchovies and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, until they start to break up. Add the garlic, olives, and capers and cook briefly, long enough to smell the garlic. Add white wine, turn heat to high, and cook until half the wine is evaporated. Add fish back to pan and spoon sauce over to coat in all that deliciousness. Cook a minute or so more, until fish is opaque (you can open the fillet a bit to see that it’s opaque all the way through).

Transfer fish to a plate. Add lemon to sauce, if using, and spoon over the fish. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives and grated lemon zest, if using.

Fried Catfish

Last night was a rough night for my exhausting devil child beautiful young daughter. I’ve read that 75% of babies her age can sleep through the night (defined as what I can only imagine is a glorious 8-12 hour stretch). But we are members of the bleary 25% who are still waking up at least twice - or in the case of last night, five times - each night for feedings. 

So dragging myself into the kitchen this morning - large cup of coffee in hand - to tackle the marinade for my dinner plan was less than appealing. But I did it, and, oh, was it worth it.

I got some catfish from my fish share this week, and I have to admit I know next to nothing about it. I think it has whiskers? According to my mother, catfish is “very Louisiana” and “definitely a bottom feeder” and also absolutely delicious. I found this fried catfish recipe from Chef Todd Richards, author of Soul - and he got it from his mother. So that speaks pretty highly for it, no?

This catfish is incredibly easy and incredibly delicious. My morning task was to immerse the catfish in a buttermilk marinade with Worcestershire, powdered onion, powdered garlic, hot sauce, salt and pepper. After that, you can basically ignore it except to give it a turn at midday. 

But... I have to admit I was a little intimidated by this recipe. Frying isn’t a common technique in my household, not out of any opposition to frying but because I’ve always assumed it’s something that requires a high level of skill. Also, I’m extraordinarily lazy when it comes to cleaning up and I was under the impression that frying was extremely messy. Turns out, I was delightfully wrong on all fronts. 

After doing some research, I identified two key tricks for frying. First, measure the temperature of the oil. I didn’t have a thermometer to leave in the oil, so I used an instant read thermometer to get to a pretty confident 350°F reading. Second, like any time you dredge, remove any excess liquid (in this case, buttermilk marinade) and excess grain (in this case, cornmeal). (As a newbie, I’m very interested in hearing other people’s expertise on this topic!)

Despite all my fears, this catfish was incredibly easy and a total hit at home. The crust was flavorful and crispy, the meat was moist and tender. And I didn’t destroy my stove with an oil storm, which has now opened my mind and heart to frying at home.

I highly recommend serving this up with something to cut the richness — something fresh like a tomato, or acidic like pickles, or bitter like lightly sautéed Swiss chard. These corn jalapeño muffins are amazing, too. At the end of the day, you will not regret dragging yourself into the kitchen to get this going.

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Fried Catfish

Servings: 4 || Time: 45 minutes || Source: Chef Todd Richards

• Catfish fillets - 1.5lbs

• Vegetable or canola oil - 4 cups

For the marinade

• Buttermilk - 2 cups

• Worcestershire - 2 tbsp

• Hot sauce - 1 tbsp

• Garlic powder - ¼ tsp

• Onion powder - ¼ tsp

• Salt - 1 tsp

• Black pepper - 1 tsp

For dredging

• Cornmeal - ½ cup

• Cayenne - ½ tsp

• Salt - 3 tsp

• Black pepper - ½ tsp

Up to eight hours before cooking, combine the ingredients for the marinade in a gallon bag or shallow baking pan and add the catfish. Refrigerate.

When you’re ready to cook, combine the dredging ingredients on a large plate or shallow bowl.

Heat vegetable oil in a large pan (cast iron or stainless steel) over medium heat until it reaches 350°F.

Working with as many pieces of catfish as you can fit in the pan at one time, remove the catfish from the buttermilk and dredge in the cornmeal mixture, shaking to remove excess. Let stand for five minutes as the oil heats.

Add the catfish to the oil and fry until golden brown, around 4 minutes per side. Use tongs to check for browning and turn when it’s turned golden brown. Remove catfish to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Serve with tartar sauce, hot sauce, lemon, and your choice of sides.