Monday, May 25, 2009

Catfish recipe

catfish with tomato chutney and lemon sauce
HUGH ACHESON... five & ten, athens, ga

Serves 6

Talk about having a tough time in life when you are right out the gate classified as a bottom feeder.
This recipe makes the whiskered little guy shine with the top feeders with beautiful crisp shell, tender flesh
and great spice from the chutney. It’s also an easy dish to accomplish and one that often sparks that age-old comment,
“I never liked catfish before that…”
The chutney is based on a wonderful recipe in Flatbreads and Flavors.


preheat oven to 400.

tomato chutney

This chutney is full flavored and complex but not hot spicy. It’s versatile too so if you have leftovers save it for a nice toasted
brioche sandwich with roast beef and local lettuce (recipe not included but you have the ability).

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons minced ginger
4 yellow onions, finely minced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 fresh jalapeƱos, seeded minced
1 teaspoon mustard seed, toasted
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek seed**
1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
20 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
kosher salt
3 cups packed cilantro, cleaned and coarsely chopped

In a large pot, over medium heat, fry garlic, onion, ginger, and jalapeƱos in oil for one minute. Add spices and continue cooking
for one more minute. Add tomatoes and a dash of salt and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until almost reduced to a coarse paste.
Remove from heat and add chopped cilantro. Reserve what you need and pack up the rest for a nice roast beef sandwich (I promise it’s awesome).

*Panko is available at Japanese grocery stores and markets.
**Ground fenugreek seed is a spice available in specialty grocery stores.

Lemon Sauce

2 cups white wine
2 cups fish stock or clam juice
1 sprig thyme
1 tablespoon cream
1 shallot, finely minced
1⁄4 pound butter
Zest of two lemons
Salt to taste
Juice of two lemons

Combine wine with thyme, shallot, and lemon zest and juice. Reduce over heat by two-thirds. Add fish stock.
Reduce liquid mixture over heat by half. Add cream. Reduce new liquid mixture over heat by half. Whisk in butter slowly.
Season and place saucepan in a large, shallow pan of warm water to keep warm until ready to serve.

catfish

2 pounds catfish fillets (6 pieces about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup panko* (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon chile powder (good quality)
Salt and pepper

Mix the panko with chile powder. Season catfish with salt and pepper. Dredge catfish in panko mixture.
Set aside. In a large cast iron skillet heat oil to over medium-high heat. Add catfish and cook three minutes
per side and then finish for two minutes in hot oven. Pool Lemon Sauce on each plate.
Place catfish on top of sauce and spoon one tablespoon of tomato chutney onto each portion. Serve with grits.

catfish with its steps... finished plate first









Sunday, May 24, 2009

good food costs money

Good read.... read on.

I also enjoyed the first comment.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

ZZang!!!


I love candy bars. I love Zingerman's.
Zingerman's is the eclectic and amazing business brand out of Ann Arbor founded by my friend Ari. They have always been lauded for all they do from their deli to their coffeehouse to their amazing bakehouse which is now rocking these awesome candy bars. They are so good that they are one of the dessert options on the prix fixe this week! ZZANG!

PRIX FIXE for may 21 to may 28

Hugh’s twenty-five buck prix fixe
May 21st to May 27th


MENU A

1.
sugar snap peas and yellow tomatoes with warm quinoa salad
2.
crisp catfish with Red Mule grits, tomato chutney, fennel slaw and lemon emulsion
3.
Zingerman’s ZZang Candy Bar

MENU B

1.
lil' lyon: frisee with poached local egg, apple, bacon vinaigrette
2.
Flo's CAB skirt steak: grilled with arugula, olive oil, herbs and chile flake... that's it
3.
strawberry and black pepper ice cream with meringue and strawberry soup


$25 per person… no substitutions... eat your vegetables.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

txakoli



Peter Dale (chef at the National, our other restaurant) is in Zaragosa, Spain right now at a family wedding. The last time I was around them parts it was with Peter and we drank a lot of Txakoli. What a great wine. It just fits a certain time of year so well. things bloom, things get hot, underwear start to stick... it's Txakoli time. The one we are selling at Five & Ten right now is Txomin Etxanix, which in my best interpretation of Basque pronunciation is Zowmen Zaaniss.
Enjoy people.

Friday, May 15, 2009

videos links!

I am so basic when it comes to fancy links but I have a library starting at YOUTUBE of some cooking in my kitchen videos. They are getting better as we go and will be much better when I get used to the sound of my recorded voice.
rock on people.
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