1. Red Snapper with Skillet Corn and Summer Crab Salad
Recipe from Chef Brody Olive, Voyagers in Orange Beach
SERVES 4
1 pound fresh jumbo lump crab meat
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon aged sherry vinegar
1 small red bell pepper, julienned
1 small shallot, shaved
1 tablespoon finely sliced chives
2 lemons, zested and juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
6 ears local silver king corn
1 small golden bell pepper, julienned
1/2 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch parsley, torn
2 tablespoons butter
4 6-ounce fillets of Gulf red snapper
1 lemon, sliced
2 radishes, shaved
1. Pick crab with your hands to remove any remaining shells. In medium mixing bowl, add crab, 3 tablespoons olive oil, sherry vinegar, red bell pepper, shallot, chives, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper and gently stir to combine. Cover and place in fridge.
2. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Remove the corn from the cob and add to the pan along with golden bell peppers, cherry tomatoes (reserve a few tomatoes for garnish), garlic and torn parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 4 – 5 minutes, stirring regularly, then reduce heat to low and allow corn to caramelize for 12 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. While pan is heating, season snapper fillets with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear snapper fillet for 3 minutes on one side. Flip and cook for about 2 more minutes. (Chef advises you cook fillets for 5 minutes per inch of thickness). Squeeze lemon over fish and remove from heat.
4. Place skillet corn in the center of each plate, and then lay snapper on top. Spoon crab salad over the snapper. Garnish with shaved radish and reserved cherry tomatoes.
2. Red Snapper Ceviche with Coconut-Lime Dressing
Recipe from the Wash House in Point Clear
SERVES 2 AS ENTREE OR 4 AS APPETIZER
1 pound fresh red snapper, diced into small pieces
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
12 ounces coconut milk
3 limes, juiced
4 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup whole cilantro leaves
2 cups canola oil, divided
1/4 pound sweet potato
salt, to taste
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup small diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon small diced jalapeno, seeds removed
1/8 cup chopped cilantro, tightly packed
1. Combine fish and lime juice in a medium bowl. Let marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, or until fish looks white and no longer raw.
2. While fish is marinating, combine next six ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate dressing until ready to use.
3. To make the cilantro oil, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add whole cilantro leaves and cook for 5 seconds. Remove from heat, drain off hot water and cover cilantro with ice water. When they are cool, squeeze cilantro leaves to remove excess liquid. Add to a blender with 1 cup canola oil and blend on high until oil is bright green. Strain out solids through a fine strainer and set aside.
4. To make the sweet potato straws, cut sweet potato on a spiral cutter, or cut into very thin strips by hand. Heat 1 cup canola oil to 325 degrees and fry sweet potato until golden brown and crisp. Drain on a paper towel and season with salt.
5. After fish has marinated, remove excess liquid. Add cut vegetables and herbs and toss to combine. Add enough dressing (you won’t need it all) to coat the fish plus a little extra to pool in the bowl. Drizzle with cilantro oil and top with crispy sweet potato straws.
3. Baked Thai Snapper
Cooking a whole fish shouldn’t be intimidating! In fact, it is easier to master than cooking a fillet. The skin and bones keep the fish from drying out too quickly, and nothing impresses like a platter with a whole fish coming to the table.
SERVES 4
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon store-bought minced)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 2-3 pound whole red snapper, gutted and scaled
Chopped green onions, mint and peanuts for garnish
1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine first seven ingredients. Cover a rimmed baking pan with aluminum foil and place snapper on it. Cover fish in marinade, making sure to coat the inside as well. Put in refrigerator for 1 hour to marinate.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook fish for 25 – 30 minutes, depending on thickness.
3. Gently transfer fish from pan to a large serving platter. Sprinkle green onions, mint and chopped peanuts over the top and bring to table. Use a spatula and knife to portion and carefully remove the fillets to each dinner plate. Once fillets have been removed from one side, flip fish and remove fillets from the other. Dinner guests often love picking at the bones for the tender morsels and sauce that remain! Pictured alongside black forbidden rice.
4. Lemon Caper Snapper
Recipe from Chuck’s Fish in Mobile
SERVES 2
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons blackening seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 6-ounce red snapper fillets
1 cup white wine (or seafood stock)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
4 teaspoons unsalted butter
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, seasoning, salt and pepper on a dinner plate. Dry the fish fillet well and then pat into the flour mixture, being sure to cover every inch.
2. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Place the fish in the pan and do not touch it until you see the edges turn golden brown. Flip the fillet and drain any extra oil from pan. Cook in oven for 9 – 14 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove pan from oven and set fish aside on a plate.
3. Add the wine and simmer until the alcohol has burned off. You should have a thin, amber-colored sauce. Add lemon juice and capers and turn the heat on low. Add the butter and turn off the pan. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the fish back to the pan to soak up flavor and heat on low for 1 – 2 minutes. Remove fish and place on serving plates, then spoon the sauce over each fillet. Serve over a bed of fresh vegetables.
5. Cilantro Corn Ceviche
SERVES 6
1 pound fresh, skinless red snapper, grouper or other Gulf fish fillets, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice (about 12 limes)
1 medium white onion, diced
1 cup cooked corn kernels
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
blue corn tortilla chips (for serving)
1. In a medium-sized glass bowl, combine the fish, lime juice and onion. Use enough juice to cover the fish completely with room to spare. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally, until fish looks “cooked” all the way through when cut open with a knife. Drain in a colander.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the corn, tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, olive oil and orange juice. Stir in the fish and season with salt to taste.
3. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
4. Garnish with additional cilantro leaves before serving. Serve with blue corn chips, crackers or tostadas.
