One of my favorite things about the beach is fishing. Wanting to enjoy red snapper in the freezer from a fishing trip this summer and inspired by a friend’s orzo dish, I served up this main course at a recent dinner party. The snapper is seasoned and coated in ground almonds and the orzo is tossed with lots of Southern veggies- sautéed tomatoes, corn, zipper peas, and spinach. You can use any white fish like triggerfish, flounder, etc.
Seared Snapper with Orzo Succotash, serves 4
2 large fillets snapper or other white fish, cut into 4 entree size pieces
1 cup almonds, grounding Vitamix or other blender
Salt, to taste
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
Salt, to taste
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup zipper peas
1 cup fresh corn
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup dry white wine
10 ounces orzo pasta, prepared according to package
3 cups spinach
3 tablespoons basil thinly chopped
Lemon, sliced to garnish
Fresh parsley, to garnish
Directions:
Coat fish in almond powder and sprinkle each piece with salt. Saute over medium heat in 2 Tbsp olive oil until golden brown on one side (about 7 minutes), flip and cook other side until golden brown (about 3 minutes). Turn off heat but keep fish warm.
At the sometime, in another sauce pan, heat the other 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Sprinkle oil with salt. Stir in garlic and shallot, cook until translucent or slightly browning. Stir in tomatoes and cook until they reduce to create a sauce. Add in zipper peas and corn, stir regularly and cook for about 10 minutes. Add in wine, lemon, and toss in orzo. Turn off heat and add spinach and basil, stirring in to make sure ingredients are evenly distributed. Season with salt if needed.
Plate orzo succotash with fish on top. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon slice. Serve.