Monday, May 21, 2012

Carnage du Jour - 15 May 2012

Why does tilapia get so little respect? I find it to be among the most versatile of fish options. It works well fried, broiled, baked, poached ... and the flavour profiles it can handle are nearly limitless as well.


Let me give you but the latest example.
My normal crust for frying is a simple mix of cornmeal and whatever spices seem right at the time, often just a nice amount of Old Bay. This time I had noticed that the jar of pistachios was nearly empty, so I grabbed what was left and chopped them with a knife, probably ending up with a scant tablespoon or so.
I mixed that with the cornmeal and Old Bay, pressed the wet fish into it, and gave it a nice fry in some hot canola oil. It was delicious. There was absolutely no need for any sauce - the fish had plenty of flavour itself, and the crust held in the juices, so it was moist and flaky.

What went with? A beautiful salad of mixed greens (some of the nice spicy varieties along with the romaine-type lettuces) and another dish that turned out extremely well.

It turns out that, much as Hooterville had the perfect soil for growing rutabagas, College Grove has perfect soil for growing sweet potatoes (they may be yams - I'm not totally clear on the distinction, frankly), and so my sister grew far more than her family could consume.

We lucked into a bag of those sweet potatoes on our last trip back from Florida, so it seemed time to use them up.
A quick wash, peel, and cubing, then into the oven they went with a bit of salt, pepper, and curry powder to roast with some chopped onions. It smelled great, and tasted every bit as good.

Definitely one to repeat!