I don't know about you, but my cooking decisions are made one of two ways. Did I see something, smell something, that just seemed so gosh darn delicious that I absolutely have to cook it or I could potentially die?! Or...did I go through the weekly sales flier for the local grocery store and see something that I could probably make taste ok on the cheap?
This concoction came into being because of the latter, but will now be remembered in the former category of deliciousness that will need to be reproduced.
Back it up.
Catfish is EVERYWHERE down here and it is usually delicious, but, it is also usually fried. When I eat something fried, I usually write it off as something I won't make at home, because:
a) I don't have a frier
b) Frying is messy and clean-up can be atrocious
c) I don't want to get fat
Now, speed it up.
Catfish was on sale for $3.99 a lb, so I perused the internet and found some recipes for baked catfish. I mated a few and the incestuous result was quick, easy and pretty low on calories and easy on my wallet.
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Prep Time : 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Ingredients that I used:
2 lbs catfish (3 big filets)
Cilantro (I bought one big bunch and finely chopped about half of it)
Garlic (5 cloves, finely chopped)
2 serrano chiles (sliced thinly)
3 sweet red peppers (sliced thinly)
1 BIG red onion (finely chopped)
1 pound of pineapple (cut into chunks)
1 lemon (thinly sliced)
1 lime (thinly sliced)
cayenne pepper
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
rice (I used Zatarain's Caribbean rice which has hints of various "island spices", coconut and pineapple).
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Preheat the oven to 375
Lightly dust each catfish filet with salt and pepper. Place each on an individual piece of tinfoil (big enough to be folded and over and wrapped like a burrito). Then put each catfish foil on a cookie sheet and place it to the side.
Chop the cilantro, garlic, peppers, onions. Heap generously on each individual filet. Chop the pineapple and add to the filets. Lastly, add the thinly sliced lemon and lime on top (I did this so that the flavor would soak, but the bitter rinds could be easily removed once cooked). I then topped with someone cayenne pepper. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over each filet.
Wrap the foil around the filets like a burrito, or any kind of other wrap thing that prevents catfish juice from leaking all over your oven and kitchen.
Bake for 15-20 mins. You will know when the filets are done because the veggies will be clear and the fish will be white and flaky when separated with a fork.
I used a rice cooker for the Zatarain's rice. This took about 20 minutes, so both parts of the meal were finished at the same time.
I debated using Thai noodles that I had lying around, and I can honestly say I am glad I went with the rice. It soaked up a lot of the juice when plated with the catfish and added a nice textural dimension.
This was a bright, cheery dish packed with a lot of flavor. I ate a lot and didn't feel gross and I certainly didn't get that terrible feeling I get after I eat fried catfish.
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