PECAN-CRUSTED FLOUNDER

Preparing flounder or other mild white fish by encrusting with nuts solves the perennial problem of imparting flavor.  Mild white fish is, well, mild and rather bland unless something is added.  Pecans, in particular, are incredibly complementary to mild-flavored fish.  While my hubby prefers his flounder prepared with salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley and some onion, pecan-crusted flounder is my favorite way of enjoying this fish.


If you cook the fish in a heavy skillet, even on low heat, it is very easy to burn the crust.  So I brown one side in my cast-iron skillet, then transfer the skillet to a pre-heated oven to finish.  The only accompaniment that is needed for this very flavorable flounder is a wedge of lemon.  While fresh flounder is in abundance here in Eastern North Carolina, I see no reason why you can’t use good-quality frozen flounder if you live away from the Coast.  And remember that snapper, sole, white trout and other mild white fish are also delightful with a nut crust.

Pecan-Crusted Flounder Fillets Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 lemon 6 Tbsp. chopped raw pecans 2 Tbsp. Panko breadcrumbs 3 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour + 2 Tbsp., divided 1/8 tsp. garlic powder Pinch Diamond kosher salt + 1/4 tsp., divided Pinch white pepper + 1/8 tsp., divided 1 lb. (skinned both sides) flounder fillets (or other mild white fish) 1/3 cup milk 1-1/2 tsp. hot sauce 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter Heat oven to 350F.  Set out a cast-iron frying pan (or other heavy pan).  Cut lemon into 4 wedges. In mini food processor, combine pecans, Panko, 3 Tbsp. whole wheat flour, garlic powder, pinch of salt and pinch of pepper.  Pulse a few times, till ingredients are finely ground and well mixed.  Pour onto a sheet of wax paper. Pat fish dry with paper towels.  (Fish should weigh at least 1 lb. after skinning.)  Cut into 3-4 serving pieces.  Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper.  Spread 2 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour onto another sheet of wax paper.   Pour milk into shallow bowl and stir in hot sauce.     Dredge fish pieces in whole wheat flour, shaking off excess, then dip both sides in milk mixture, then into nut coating.  Lay coated pieces on wax paper. Heat skillet on medium heat.  Add oil and butter.  When oil and butter start to foam, add fish pieces.  Cook about 2-3 minutes, or till underside is golden brown; turn fish over and place skillet in oven for 3-4 minutes, or till fish flakes easily when pierced with a fork.  Serve hot with lemon wedges.  Yield:  2-4 servings

FLOUNDER WITH LEMON CAPER SAUCE

Here’s a simple weeknight recipe for flounder, or any mild white fish (sole, tilapia, etc.).  The flounder I used was frozen and thawed.  (Backstory:  A friend gave us a gift of about 35 small flounders, freshly caught.  We gave some away and froze the rest.  Trying to make room in the freezer, Guy cut the heads and tails off our fish.  While it made room in the freezer, it also ruined my plans for grilling them on cedar planks.  Oh, yes, we tried:




We found that the heads and tails are critical to the moistness of the fish when planking.   In other words, the fish was sort of dry.   I needed a plan B for the 20 or so flounders sitting in my freezer.  So, at my request, Guy filleted two of them.)
 
We both enjoyed our flounder simply pan fried in a cast-iron skillet and drizzled with a lemon-caper sauce.  The fish was moist and the sauce was a perfect complement to the mildness of flounder.  We’ll definitely be having an encore soon.

Flounder with Lemon Caper Sauce Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

1 tsp. unsalted butter 1 garlic clove, grated or minced 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1 lb. flounder (or other mild white fish) fillets Fine sea salt or kosher salt to taste Black pepper to taste 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice 1-1/2 Tbsp. capers, rinsed, drained 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley In small saucepan, heat butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Add broth and cook till reduced to half.  Off heat, cover and keep warm. Pat fish dry with clean paper towels.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Heat a medium heavy skillet, preferably a cast-iron skillet, over medium-high heat.  Add oil.  Right before it reaches its smoking point, add the flounder.  Cook about 1 minute, then flip to the other side and cook another 30-45 seconds.  Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.  Increase skillet heat to high and pour in reduced broth mixture.  Add lemon juice and cook about 1 minute, or till mixture starts to thicken slightly.  Add capers and parsley and cook till heated through.  Serve sauce over flounder.  Yield:  4 servings

BAKED FLOUNDER WITH TOMATO SHRIMP SAUCE

In Eastern North Carolina, where I live, fresh seafood is abundant year round. We're spoiled. There's really no reason to buy frozen here. The shrimp sauce for this recipe is delicious and would be great over pasta. It was good over the fish, but I tasted the shrimp sauce and not the flounder. Flounder has a delicate, mild flavor. And when It's fresh, you want to taste it in all its delicate deliciousness. Covering it with a sauce, no matter how good, is superfluous, to say the least. If I had to rate the components of this recipe, I'd give the flounder 10 out of 10 and the sauce 10 out of 10; but together, they get only a 7.5 out of 10. Live and learn.

There was one portion left over, and I heated it up the next day for lunch. Not in the microwave. I use that monster as little as possible. Did you know that microwaving your food totally destroys all nutrients and changes the cellular structure? I heated the fish in a small frypan. It actually tasted better reheated than when it was fresh. But I still couldn't taste the flounder.

Baked Flounder with Tomato Shrimp Sauce

Source: Judy's Kitchen

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 3 plum tomatoes, halved

1 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves grated garlic

1/4 cup dry white wine, drinking quality

1/8 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1/8 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 lb. peeled and deveined small shrimp

1/4 cup fat-free half and half (or cream if you con't care about calories)

2-3 pieces of fresh flounder

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 375F. Place plum tomatoes, cut sides down, on a pie plate that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil. Bake 20-30 minutes, or till tender and beginning to caramelize. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Peel tomatoes and cut into pieces. Pour the juice into a skillet and cook the onions in it on medium for a few minutes, till transparent. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add wine and herbs and let it sizzle. Add chicken broth, bring to a low boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes to develop flavors. In the meantime, pat flounder dry with paper towels; place in the pie plate and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes, or till tender and meat flakes when pierced with a fork. Add shrimp to skillet and cook quickly, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in half and half. Place one piece of flounder on each plate; top with some shrimp sauce; sprinkle with chopped parsley. Yield: 2-3 servings

BAKED FLOUNDER

New Bern has two fish markets, but I rarely get to either of them. Instead, I look for fresh fish at our local Harris Teeter store. Last week, while ogling all the fish, I asked when the whole flounder arrived. "Today," was the answer. Yup. That's for me. It was still whole, but Guy has a fillet knife and he wasted no time skinning and filleting the beautiful fish. We got two big fillets and two small fillets. I made the two big fillets for dinner and froze the two small ones for next week. It was a bargain for a total price of $10.59. And it was fresh. Not a bit of fishy taste at all. It was delicate and mild the way flounder should be.
Finally, something Guy and I agree on: we both like our flounder plain and simple. In warmer weather we grill it in tinfoil outside. But last week we wanted the oven on, so I preheated the oven to 400F, and placed the fish (patted dry with paper towels on a baking dish that had been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I sprinkled it with about 1 tsp. lemon juice, then very lightly with sea salt, smoked paprika and chopped fresh parsley. A few dots of Smart Balance buttery spread (or butter) on each fillet and in the oven it went for about 20 minutes. This was so easy and so good. Nothing exotic here, but the taste was superb and we were both so happy. As long as the oven was on, I threw in some broccoli, pea pods and onions and some fingerling potatoes. Actually the fingerlings went in about 10 minutes ahead to give them enough time. They got a shot of EVOO and some salt and pepper, same as the broccoli, etc. When the broccoli, etc., came out, I gave it a dose of lemon-garlic vinaigrette. If you think of fish as a torture meal, this one would change your mind. It was a meal fit for a king.

SIMPLE BAKED FLOUNDER

We have a crab trap at our friend's dock in Pamlico County. When Guy went to check it yesterday, there were a bunch of blue claws, a soft shell crab and a flounder. We ate the flounder for dinner tonight, along with some steamed green beans, eggplant parmesan from Prevario's, and a simple tomato salad made with his cousin's tomatoes. Everything was delicious.

For the flounder, Guy skinned it on both sides. Since I was using the oven to heat the eggplant parmesan, I put the flounder in a large glass pie plate
that I had sprayed with non-stick
cooking spray. I dotted the fish pieces with little bits of garlic-herb butter that I had left over from my last batch of garlic bread. (I actually used Smart Balance Lite, not butter.) The fish baked at 375F for about 15 minutes, and was perfectly done. This is about as good as it gets.