Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Something New

My favorite place in the world is the farmers market. Any farmers market really, but of course I have fallen in love with my neighborhood market. It's only open from Friday until Sunday so I always get super excited on Friday evenings on my way home from work. There always seems to be something new to find there. Every time I visit it feels like the start of a new adventure. My favorite things to purchase are fresh produce and exotic fish from the local fish market. My husband and I have a ritual. Every Saturday evening we visit the market to make our rounds. We always start in the produce market where he picks out the fruits and I pick out the vegetables and herbs. After we check out we head over to the nearby fish market and observe the new arrivals and weekly selections. We usually buy a few staples like whiting and butter fish (We love butter fish with grits for breakfast). I'm referring to the peprilus triacanthus type and not the lepidocybium flavobrunneum type (Google is your friend) lol! This past weekend was no different.

 While visiting the fish market, we were both struck by an odd looking fish that happened to be inside of the ice case. I couldn't tell what it was and judging by the look on my husband's face, he didn't know what it could be either. I asked the man behind the counter what it was and he replied that it was "skate fish". I asked what family it was from and he said "It tastes like crab, cooks up like shark steak, and looks like a sting ray". Pause. Sting ray? Can you eat that? Is it good? What in the world?...I had so many thoughts tied up in my head in regard to this crazy looking sting ray/crab/shark hybrid. I look back at my husband. He looks back at me. "How much is it?" I ask. "$3.99 a pound" replies the fish man. My husband and I both stare at the fish and then at the man. Our curiosity got the best of us. We grab our fish and run home. I had no clue how to prepare the fish so I did the safest thing possible by simply seasoning and searing it with onion and pepper on the stovetop. I have to add that my fish market will skin, scale, and debone on request so I didn't have to worry about that. I simply cleaned and cooked the fish to our liking. The end result was amazing! Light and buttery in flavor, this fish is an easy win for anyone who likes a delicately flavored whitefish option. (Pics & recipe below)



Ingredients 

1-1/2 lbs of skate fish

2 Medium japeleno peppers (sliced) (substitutes with sweet pepper if you are not a fan of spicy food)

1/2 Sweet Onion (chopped)

1 tbs of raw organic coconut oil (can also be substituted with butter)

1 Clove of garlic ( cleaned, peeled, and chopped)

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Season fish lightly on each side with salt, pepper, and light ground cumin.

Melt coconut oil in a preheated frying pan and include onion and japeleno pepper after 20 seconds. Allow to cook until slightly wilted. The onion will begin to appear iridescent. Afterwards transfer cooked vegetables into a seperate bowl for later.

Keep heat on medium and place the seasoned fish in the same frying pan and oil used to prepared vegetables. Cook for  10 minutes on each side uncovered. After our cooked vegetables over fish and turn heat down to simmer for 3 minutes. Serve hot with rice.


                        Enjoy!



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