Seared Redfish with Pepper Jelly, Cucumber Relish, and Fish Sauce Caramel

Fish Sauce Caramel Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
2 tsp lime juice
1 c sugar
1 star anise pod
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 fl oz fish sauce

Cucumber Relish Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeds removed, diced small
2 mint leaves
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tb rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

For the Pepper Jelly:

2 fl oz pepper jelly
1 Tb water

Redfish Ingredients:

2 redfish filets, skin on, scaled, bones removed
1 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the Fish Sauce Caramel:

In a nonreactive skillet, combine half of the water, lime juice, and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until a light caramel color is reached. Add anise, cinnamon, pepper, the rest of the water and the fish sauce. Stir until combined. Strain, cool, and reserve.

For the Cucumber Relish:

Chop the mint leaves and combine in a small bowl with the cucumber, oil, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.

For the Pepper Jelly:

In a small saucepan, heat the water and the pepper jelly over low heat, stirring until a thick syrupy sauce is made. Keep warm.

For the Redfish:

Season both sides of the redfish filets with salt and pepper. In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Sear the redfish, skin side first, for about 4 minutes, turning once halfway through. Place the cooked filets on a plate to rest. On each of two serving plates, spread some of the warm pepper jelly sauce and drizzle some of the fish sauce caramel. Place a fish filet on each sauced plate.  Top with some of the cucumber relish and serve.

Yields 2 servings. Recipe compliments of Jeremy Conner.

Blue Crab Quesadillas with Charred Tomato Sour Cream

Sour Cream Ingredients:

1 medium ripe tomato, sliced thick
salt and pepper
4 fl oz sour cream

Quesadilla Filling Ingredients:

1/2 lb fresh blue crab claw meat
3 oz mascarpone cheese
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 oz parsley leaves, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Quesadillas Ingredients:

4 medium flour tortillas
Quesadilla filling from above
butter for frying
1/2 oz parsley leaves, chopped

For the Sour Cream:

Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Sear the tomato slices on both sides until they are slightly charred. Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Place in refrigerator to cool completely.

Once cool, chop the tomato slices and mix into sour cream. Set aside.

For the Quesadilla Filling:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and set aside.

For the Quesadillas:

Spread half the filling on each of two tortillas. Top each with another tortilla to assemble quesadillas. Heat butter in cast iron skillet over medium heat. Fry the quesadillas, one at a time, in the butter, flipping the quesadillas over when the bottom tortilla becomes golden brown around the edges. Slice the quesadillas into quarters or sixths and place one set on each of two serving plates. Top with the charred tomato sour cream and the chopped parsley and serve.

Yields 2 servings. Recipe compliments of Jeremy Conner.

Mignonettes

Japanese Plum Mignonette

2 c Japanese plum, pitted and chopped
1 c minced shallots
1.5 c rice wine vinegar
1/2 c water
1 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander

Combine all ingredients except for shallots and plum in nonreactive pot. Bring to boil to dissolve salt and sugar. Pour over plum and shallot and add 1/2 jalapeño. Allow to cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate.

Pickled Pear Mignonette

2 c unseasoned rice vinegar
2 Tb sugar
2 Tb kosher salt
1 4-inch piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
1 small red or green chile (such as jalapeño, serrano, or Thai), with seeds, thinly sliced
2 tsp whole, black peppercorns
1 tsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder) or crushed red pepper flakes
2 Asian pears, large unripe Anjou pears, or Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch cubes)
3 shallots finely minced

Combine all ingredients except pear in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes to meld flavors. Remove from heat and let sit until warm. Add warm pickling liquid. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover and chill.

Pickled Strawberries

2 Tb sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 c water
3/4 c white balsamic vinegar or champagne vinegar
1 Tb pink peppercorns
7 oz. (1 ¾ c) strawberries, diced
3 shallots, minced (small dice/brunoised)
1 ea Thai chili, split*

In a nonreactive pot, combine all ingredients except for strawberries and shallots. Bring to boil and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour liquid over strawberries and shallots until completely covered. Reserve any excess liquid for another pickling use. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate.

*ea is a unit of measurement for counted items

Recipes compliments of Ashley Roussel.