Just before Christmas 2015, while at my son’s friend’s birthday party I was gifted some free Mexican Limes from the garden by the celebrant’s mother who is a friend of mine.  Christmas and New Year celebrated, then after the dust had settled I remembered my now yellow and ripe limes (at the time I plucked them up from the tree they were green and unripe).

Ingredients

Fish

White Fillet Catfish ( Farm fresh or Wild, whichever you are able to buy)

Mexican/Key Lime  (juiced)

Fresh Ginger (grated)

Honey (from my neighbour’s Beehive, citrusy flavor profile)

Olive oil (splug)

Rainbow Peppercorn (sprinkle)

Fish Topping

Crispy bacon (diced)

Mushrooms (Portobello and Cremini aka Crimini, diced)

Habanero (diced)

Mini yellow bell pepper (diced)

Shallots (diced)

Kosher salt (pinch)

Garlic seasoning (sprinkle)

Dressing

Sunflower greens

Creme Fraiche and Dijon Mustard

What you’ll need

Oil Spritzer

Fish tongs or any flat spatula you have on hand

Griddle pan and/or Frying pan

Microplaner

Chopping board

Salad dressing bottle

Handheld citrus juicer

Long rectangular pyrex dish or just a suitable dish

What I did

I made my dressing/marinade first; 2 limes were juiced into my salad dressing bottle to which I added a small teaspoon of honey, grated a pinky finger sized ginger and added a small glug of extra virgin Olive oil. This was left in the fridge until needed. The lime juice was then added to the catfish placed in a rectangular pyrex dish that was  put back in the fridge for about an hour.

During that time, I chopped up my crispy bacon leftover from previous breakfast ( if you don’t have leftovers; it will only take a few minutes to fry up in a pan or oven bake) I used the bacon for salt profile. To the pan, I added the bacon first to produce the fat and then the other vegetables, saute for a few minutes and it was ready.

The marinated fish was sprinkled with rainbow peppercorn and pan grilled for a few minutes on both sides, and set aside to rest before serving.

The sauce was a combination of creme fraiche and Dijon mustard. And garnish was the sunflower greens.

Taste:

Three layers; the subtle freshness from the fish, and the crunch spiciness of the topping(compote) with the greens was a great combo and the finishing touch of the sweetness from the creamy sauce as an added bonus.  This was a good  delicious and light dinner that had complex flavors and texture all in one. My hubby wanted a hearty dinner, so he added a side of cooked white rice and green peas.

Feel free to use any white fish you have in your fridge and leave out the bacon- if you are very health conscious.

Until next time, keep experimenting!