This dish might push your limits in the kitchen, but one taste and you'll know it's worth every minute. Special Equipment: Food processor, 3 small saucepans. Courtesy of Bruce Enloe of The Branch.
Directions for: Blackened Rainbow Trout with Veggie touffe and Remoulade
Ingredients
Rice and Tomato1 tomato, roughly chopped
1 cup uncooked whole grain rice
Cajun Spice Rub3 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
tsp cyaenne pepper, or to taste
Remoulade2 egg yolks
2 clove garlic
1 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
tsp salt
1 cup canola oil
Bchamel Sauce1 cup milk
1 bay leaf
onion, chopped
1 clove
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
Fish1 Tbsp canola oil
2 (8-10 oz) rainbow trout fillets, cleaned and deboned
Assembly1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
green bell pepper, chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
lime wedges
fresh thyme
Directions
Rice and Tomato1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Spread chopped tomato on a greased baking sheet; bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tomato skins start to blacken.
3. Lower oven temperature to 350F.
4. Add rice to a saucepan with 1 cups of water. Bring water to boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until water is fully absorbed and rice is soft.
5. While rice cooks, make the remoulade.
Cajun Spice Rub1. To make a Cajun Spice Rub, stir together paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne; set aside.
Remoulade1. In a blender or food processor, combine roasted tomato, egg yolks, garlic, lime juice, prepared mustard, salt, and 1 teaspoon of the Cajun Spice Rub; reserve remaining spice rub to season fish.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add canola oil to the blender in a steady stream and blend until smooth and thick; set aside until plating.
Bchamel Sauce1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine milk, bay leaf, onion, and clove; simmer for 20 minutes, strain milk, and set aside.
2. To make a roux for the bchamel, melt butter in a second medium saucepan over medium-high heat; whisk flour into butter and cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add reserved milk mixture to the roux and whisk over medium-low heat until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt and white pepper and keep warm over low heat.
Fish1. Dredge fish fillets in reserved Cajun spice mixture and shake off excess.
2. Fish can either be seared on the stove or classically blackened in a cast iron pan on an outdoor grill.
3. If using the stove, preheat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet. Sear fish for less than a minute per side; remove fillets from the pan and place on a greased baking sheet.
4. Place fish in the oven to cook for 5-7 minutes, or until fish is cooked through.
5. If using the grill, preheat a dry cast iron pan over the grill until it is white hot. Sear fish for less than a minute per side.
6. Remove fillets from the pan and place on a greased baking sheet; bake fish for 5-7 minutes, or until fish is cooked through.
Assembly1. When fish is almost done, bring a large pot of water to boil to blanch vegetables.
2. Add yellow onion, carrot, celery, and green pepper to the pot and blanch for 45 seconds.
3. Drain vegetables and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. To plate, add a spoonful of cooked rice to four plates. Spoon blanched vegetables over rice and add a spoonful of bchamel over the vegetables.
5. Place fillet of fish on each pile of vegetables and spoon remoulade sauce over top, to serve.
6. Garnish with lime wedges and fresh thyme.
See more: Comfort Food, North American, Fish, Rice/Grain, Vegetables, Main, Dinner, Gourmet