Seafood

I don’t cook with scallops too often, but every time I do I am amazed at just how good they are and why I need to eat them more often.  They are honestly like the eating a sea steak haha.  They are so meaty and so flavorful, and respond so well when seared golden brown and coated in herbs and butter.  It’s as if the scallop was only meant to be drenched in white wine, herbs and butter.  Sure it’s a little more on the classic side, but once you take your first bite you’ll know exactly why it is considered “classic.”

I absolutely love making herb butters, and in my time in the kitchen I’ve made quite a few of them.  From truffle butter, to roasted garlic butter, I’ve always got some on hand that hold perfectly in the freezer, I just take a little dab out whenever I need it.  The herb butter I made in this pan seared scallop recipe is sort of an all-encompassing butter which means it would go amazing on just about anything.  I used a tub of Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil because it’s already soft and has the perfect blend of butter to oil.

Whenever I’m pan searing protein it’s essential that I cruise through the dairy aisle to pick up some Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil.  Buttermay be the single most important aspect to pan searing anything.  Not only does it provide flavor but it also helps to brown up whatever it is you’re cooking up in the pan.  I seriously cannot express enough the importance of purchasing butter.  When you buy protein, immediately head over to the dairy aisle, don’t think twice!

The process of searing protein is actually quite simple.  You add a bit of oil to a pan and turn it to high heat.  Once the oil begins to lightly smoke you then want to add in your protein and turn the heat down to medium-high.  Now is the time to add yourLand O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil.  Doing this will help brown up your protein to get that perfect caramelization to the outside.  This process will give more flavor to your food then you can imagine.

This Pan Seared Scallops with White Wine and Herb Butter Sauce is really a quick and easy recipe to make for your family or when serving up at a party.  They are wonderful eaten just as I prepared them here or over a bed of sautéed spinach and a side of polenta.  The flavors are so rich and delicious that you’ll honestly think your home kitchen turned into a restaurant over night!

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I can’t tell you how many time people I don’t know, and do know, throw out the accusation that I know about some specific food, or ethnic dish, or cooking technique because I’m a chef and went to culinary school.  I understand why they would think that but to clarify, there isn’t a single chef in the world that knows everything about the culinary world.  It’s impossible!  I know absolutely nothing about Somali cuisine, or food from Kazakhstan, or foods and ingredients from Greenland.  Literally I know what I know and I try to learn from there.  One of my favorite chefs told us in culinary school that as chefs we only know a little bit about a lot, and that there is too much to learn in the culinary world for any 1 single man to know it all.  Ok so where I am going with this?  I can honestly say that I had limited smoking experience before the past 2 years.  I used to work at this restaurant where we smoked our own turkey and shrimp for a few dishes on our menu, however we never used a traditional smoker.  We had something called an Alto-Shaam which looks like a little food warmer and has this box in it where you put soaked wood chips in it and it would smoke.  I never thought the flavor of anything it produced was that good, and it certainly didn’t represent any smoky type of food I have ever had.  I’m not sure if was the rubs or brines we used, or lack thereof, but it just wasn’t quality smoked food.  Sure the ingredients were super high quality but the final flavors just were not there.  So before just a couple of years ago my smoking experience was limited and if you would’ve asked me how to smoke foods, I honestly would not have known where to begin.  It kind of goes back to the whole I know what I know and try to experiment with new things, but I just can’t know everything.

I’ve become really interested in smoking foods the last 2 years.  It’s definitely an art form and man does it bring people around the table when you tell them you’ve been smoking a pork butt all day long.  The flavors have been fantastic and experimenting every time I smoke has been crucial to me learning it so I can find the best working combinations.  I have 2 smokers, a Big Green Egg and a Bradley digital smoker.  I prefer the digital smoker because the work is far less and the flavor is just about the same.  When I first starting smoking foods I would put all these crazy rubs on the food and let it sit for 24 to 48 hours, but realized after smoking that all I could taste was the rub and no smoke.  I’ve learned that if you buy the best and freshest ingredients you really only need a few seasonings and you let the smoke do the work.  I’ve used anything from plain old salt and pepper to a combo of salt, pepper, paprika, onion and garlic powder and both methods produce outstanding results, and little down time before smoking.

Buying salmon these days can be a little fishy, no pun intended.  Things seemed to be so much easier back in the day when all fish came from a river or an ocean, and then people started experimented with fish farms and that seemed cool for a second.  Well, fast forward 15-20 years and now fish farms are over run causing poor over crowded environments resulting in almost toxic food.  I kid you not that I saw salmon at a grocery store, no names but it rhymes with toll moods, that said coloring has been added to the salmon.  Coloring??  Really??  Why do I need my fresh fish to be colored?  Does it not look as normal salmon should once butchered?  What color is it naturally after pulling it out of a fish farm pool?  Well this weirded me out even more that before when I still knew fish farms weren’t the right way to eat fish.  So in the end what I’m trying to tell you is to ONLY buy fresh wild caught salmon that is sustainable.  There are always a few varieties of wild caught salmon from Atlantic, to Coho, to Sockeye, and a few others that would work perfect for cooking or smoking.  Also, when I say sustainable fish I mean fish that aren’t on the verge of extinction like Bluefin Tuna or Orange Roughy, among a few others.  If you want to know if you should purchase a seafood item but aren’t sure if it’s over-fished, then check out http://www.seafoodwatch.org/.

Man I’ve been preaching in this post haha!  Back to making this homemade smoked salmon platter recipe.  After I purchased my wild caught sockeye salmon I seasoned it well with Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper and let it sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes.  You do this before smoking anything so that it does not chill the smoker temperature because it has to be so exact and to also simply take the chill off the food.  I used my digital smoker when smoking this salmon so it was very seamless.  I used hickory wood chips and set the dial to 215° and hot smoked it for around 90 minutes.  I know in the smoke world that is a really low smoke time, but salmon is thin and because of that it will pick up plenty of smoke in that short amount of time.  I do have a cold smoker attachment, but I wanted to hot smoke my salmon for only the second time in my life ever.  Again when it comes to smoking, or practicing any cooking technique for that matter, it’s all about reps and trying new things.  When using the digital smoker, you control how much smoke, the temperature and how long you want foods to smoke/cook for.  I personally thing that smoking salmon on a traditional smoker with wood and charcoal would get way too hot for a side of salmon.  Not saying it wouldn’t work I just think the smoke time would be really low and wouldn’t give your salmon the flavor it needs to be “smoked salmon.”  Remember to leave the skin on when smoking salmon to help hold all of the moisture and flavor into it while smoking.

I know this last part isn’t going to help at all but everything else that goes on this smoked salmon platter is completely up to you.  I literally looked in my refrigerator and almost cleaned it out so I could get rid of a few miscellaneous ingredients and you should do the same.  Smoked salmon is so delicious it literally goes great with just about anything you want to throw at it.  That’s all I got for now, but I promise so more smoked foods are coming in the near future!!

There is nothing better than eating a great tasting meal with friends and family, and with minimal clean-up.  I’m a huge fan of the 1 pan meal not only because I love roasted food but also because it allows me spend more time with my family and less time scrubbing dishes.  Because I love these 1 pan meals, I need them to be a little bigger so that I can fit a lot of food in them, like the 12” Stainless Steel Casserole Pan from American Kitchen Cookware that I used in this Spicy Baked Salmon Fajitas Recipe with Roasted Peppers and Onions.  I just absolutely love the pans design and functionality because it reminds me of the durable beautiful cookware I used to cook on back when I was in the restaurant industry.  We rehabbed our kitchen last year and I just love keeping out industrial style cookware in our open shelves and stove, so any chance I get I leave the pan out!

These spicy baked salmon fajitas are incredibly easy to make and it all comes together in about 30 minutes.  That’s right a 1-pan 30-minute meal with minimal clean-up that’s absolutely delicious!  Score for dad :-).  Eating fajitas are so fun because of all the ingredient accessories you can put on them like cheese, crema, cilantro or avocado.  It’s one of those meals that is customizable to your liking, which my family always appreciates.  To make this spicy baked salmon a little zesty a made a really simple spicy blend consisting of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, chipotle powder, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper and then generously seasoned the salmon on both sides with the rub.  It’s important to brush the salmon with a bit of olive oil so that that rub will easily coat the fish.  Also, yes you will have some of the rub leftover but I’m pretty sure you’ll like it enough to use it again some time.  Once the salmon it coated on all sides with the seasoning it’s then time to sauté up the fish.

“The Casserole Pan I sautéed the fish in is made of the highest grade stainless steel in West Bend, Wisconsin, just two hours away from my Chicago home!”  I love cooking on stainless steel because it heats so evenly and it’s always easy to get food to remove from the bottom of the pan with ease while cooking.  Add a bit of the oil to the bottom of the pan over medium-high heat and sear the salmon until it is golden brown on both sides but not cooked through.  It cooks for a total of about 6 minutes.  To help brown the fish, and to help it un-stick to pans, I always add a touch of butter around the pan and once the butter browns up it’s then time to flip it over.  You can also deglaze with a little lime juice to help release the fish from the pan. Because you don’t want to cook the fish throughout simply remove it from the pan after browning both sides, and add the peppers and onions to the pan.

You want the vegetables to really roast up so crank up the heat to high and make sure they get a nice light char on them.  You don’t want to caramelize them and make them overly soft, you want to roast them so you only want to cook them, or stir-fry them, for about 5 to 7 minutes.  Once they get that light char, place the salmon back on top with a few lime slices and transfer the pan to the oven at 400° for 10 minutes.  This will help finish the salmon off while allowing the zesty spices and juices to run down and season up the peppers and onions as well.

Once the salmon and vegetables are done roasting in the oven then you simply break up the salmon with two forks and serve it inside of flour tortillas with all the fixin’s.  The toppings are completely up to you but I used Mexican crema, avocado, queso fresco cheese and fresh cilantro leaves.  The combo of the toppings and the spicy salmon and roasted peppers and onions is to die for!  It is so good and so easy to make.  If you are looking for a quick week night meal, then look no further than this Spicy Baked Salmon Fajitas Recipe with Roasted Peppers and Onions.

Because I see you starring at this good looking American Kitchen Cookware Pan, they have so graciously given me 1 to giveaway to you!!  To enter the contest simply enter the information into the random giveaway widget below!  We’ll give you an extra giveaway entry to the folks who provide us your email address as well, so if you want to increase your chances then get in on it!

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Now this is my type of cooking.  Simple, elegant, and dang delicious.  In fact, if I had it my way I would make recipes like this Homemade Pasta Recipe with Lemon Ricotta and Smoked Salmon every dang day.  Unfortunately, I’m busy as heck and can’t devote a few hours every day to feeding the family.  So, when I get to do recipes like this one I really enjoy myself.  It took me quite a while in my culinary career to appreciate all aspects of the cooking process.  From the grocery shopping to the clean-up, it’s become therapeutic for me.  Truth be told if the recipes require more intricate procedures I seem to enjoy them even more.  I’m weird I know, but something about rolling out a classic recipe like homemade pasta just brings me so much joy.  That’s right, I don’t even like running the dough through a machine to flatten it; I like to do it all by hand.  Now you think I’m even weirder.

There is something so joyous when you see the fruits of your labor form something as beautiful as a sheet of homemade past dough.  You throw some flour on it and hold it up so you can barely see through it.  Perfect!  One thing is for certain, if you roll out homemade pasta the palms of your hands will be a little soar, especially if you’re not used to doing it like this.  However, I’m a bit of purist when it comes to creating classic recipes but I have zero problem with you running it through a Kitchenaid, none.  Whatever makes your time more valuable in the kitchen so you can do what you need to do.  Stories and personal feelings aside regarding rolling out pasta dough, let’s get into this Homemade Pasta Recipe with Lemon Ricotta and Smoked Salmon.

If you’ve never had or made homemade dough and are doing it for the first time, you will be amazed at how delicious it is.  You will literally despise store bough dried pasta from here on out, it’s a fact!  When noodles are homemade they have the ability to soak up more of the pasta sauce flavors making them that much more succulent.  You also have the ability to add ingredients to your pasta to make them unique, like spinach or sun-dried tomatoes.  Don’t get me wrong this homemade pasta recipe needs nothing, but if you want to get creative you can.

I spelled out the instructions in a lot of detail in the recipe below so I don’t want to bore you with all that.  However, if you are looking for an intricate detail on how to make a homemade pasta recipe with pictures then check out my Homemade Fettuccine Pasta with Ragu alla Bolognese.  To take a step back on the pasta recipe I absolutely recommend using semolina flour, but you can definitely use AP flour.  Just a little FYI there.

When I was making this Homemade Pasta Recipe with Lemon Ricotta and Smoked Salmon, I knew I wanted some simple ingredients and flavors to compliment the labor of love that is homemade pasta.  I love the combo of ricotta and lemon, so why not whip those together and fold it in with the pasta?  Once I knew I had the base of the pasta I wanted to add some protein that sort of shares my culinary point of view with that of the simplistic cuisine of the mother land, a.k.a. Italy :-).  I’ve really been into smoking foods the past few years and I couldn’t think of a better food to pair up with everything then smoked salmon.  I also realize that you probably don’t have a smoker so for all intents and purposes we are just going to use some store bought smoked salmon, no shame.  If you do get a smoker one day hit me up and we’ll talk about some great easy recipes for you to try, including smoked salmon.  The only thing you need to do is break it up in small chunks or if you buy the slices, roughly chop it.  The sour from the lemon compliments the richness of the ricotta and smoky salty goodness from the salmon like a dream come true, seriously.  It is an excellent pairing and event better when eaten all together.  Garnish with some fresh herbs and serve it up with some wine and crusty bread.  Hope you get a chance to do this one, it’s a good one :-).

Man I have to admit, I try to avoid making things that revolve around the whole Thai Curry food world.  I’m just not that well versed in it and truth be told I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy food.  I can certainly build of tolerance to eating spicy food on the regular but I need to be in training and right now I haven’t even attempted it.  However, I always believe in making things “comfortably spicy.”  Nothing more strange to me than watching someone literally dab their head with paper towels as they sweat profusely while eating spicy food…  I mean what the crap is that anyways?  It kind of makes me think of the Thai scene in the move Along Came Polly where Ben Stiller is drenched in sweat and is literally about to explode lol.  Great movie.  Ok let’s talk Thai and more specifically this Thai Curry Shrimp Pasta Recipe.

Now because I don’t cook Thai very often or have an excessive amount of knowledge around the cuisine, that doesn’t meant I don’t know the ins and outs.  I started first with finely grating some fresh ginger and fresh garlic cloves.  I next heated up some sesame oil in a medium size sauce pot over medium-low heat and cooked the garlic and ginger slowly.  I wasn’t trying to caramelize it, just simply sweeting it to release some flavor and aromatics.  Once I had the perfect sweet on my finely grated ginger-garlic combo, I added in some red curry paste and sort of toasted it up.  The best example I could give for this is the art of pinceing which is where you add tomato paste to some roasted veal bones and vegetables to add flavor and give off a rust color.  Close example, but not perfect.  I then next deglazed with a little sweet rice wine and added in some soy, brown sugar and fish sauce.  I cooked this mixture down just a tad to help concentrate the flavors and to make sure you get a nice sweet and salty finish to the broth I was trying to make.  The smells in your kitchen at this stage of the Thai Curry Shrimp Pasta Recipe will be pretty glorious!

Once you get the mixture cooked down you simply stir in some coconut milk, vegetable stock, and I added in a tad more curry powder and turmeric.  I’ve been on a turmeric kick lately simply because it’s delicious and the health benefits are vast!  I can guarantee that if you are looking for any food combo that helps with anti-inflammatory, you will without a doubt find turmeric in it.  So I know that seems like a lot for the broth, but honestly I didn’t even leave the house to make it.

Let’s move on to the shrimps!  I tried to find the biggest fattest shrimp I could that even Forrest Gump would have been proud.  I would recommend buying at the least 16-20 shrimp.  If you have no clue what those numbers say when purchasing shrimp, it is referencing how many shrimp make up a pound.  You’re welcome J.  Since shrimp is the main ingredient in this Thai Curry Shrimp Pasta Recipe, we want it to be pronounced and with big shrimp it will be.

The only other vegetables I added in were shiitake mushrooms and sliced baby bell peppers.  Yes, you can use hot peppers in this case if you can take the heat, but clearly I gotta get out the kitchen when it comes to spice.  Don’t hate!  Once the vegetables are all prepped up heat up some sesame oil in a scorching hot wok or large sauté pan and roast up those mushrooms!  Mushrooms take on a whole new flavor when caramelized and dang are they good.  Mushrooms have umami, or delicious flavor, so be sure to use them in this Thai Curry Shrimp Pasta Recipe.  Once the mushrooms are roasted I added in the shrimp with a little more grated ginger and garlic and then finished with the peppers.  Also just like the broth I deglazed with some mirin and finished with soy sauce.  This little mixture alone is so dang good, but please try not to eat it all just yet.   Finally pour the broth over some cooked Japanese Egg Noodles and top off with the shrimp, mushrooms and peppers and garnish with basil.  I literally made this recipe from start to finish in 30 minutes and so can you!!  Let me know if you make it.

When I make a dish that has multiple components to it, i.e. veg, starch, protein and sauce, I am always in search of the perfect balance, like in this Tomato Farro Salad with Salmon and Lemon Yogurt Sauce.  Nothing in the dish should over take the flavor of something else, it should however look to compliment

There are some great chefs out there who can fit every flavor profile, sweet, savory, salty, bitter, and spicy into a single food item.  I however take a different approach and try to incorporate all of those flavors into separate items on the dish so when you eat them together you get that perfect balance.  Whether it be lack of knowledge or skill for me not to get those tastes in 1 food item or preference, I’ve found something that works for me.

To be honest, I haven’t cooked with farro in years but I’ve been dying to get my hands back on it.  I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Farro which is high in fiber and great source for protein and iron.  Farro is an ancient Mediterranean grain that was a mainstay in traditional ancient rome daily diets, and is often considered, “the mother of all wheats.”  It’s delicious, easy to cook and so versatile in its usages.

Since I simply wanted to make a salad with it, I boiled it and chilled it and then tossed it around with some vegetables that would not only compliment the farro, but also the salmon and the sauce.  I roasted up some assorted cherry tomatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper and then chilled them since I wanted the salad to be room temperature.  You just want to blister the tomatoes, be sure not to overcook them.

To finish off the salad toss the farro with the cooled tomatoes, cucumbers, pitted Spanish and Kalamata olives, feta cheese, arugula, fresh oregano leaves, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.  If you want you could add a few more things or even replace some things like kale for arugula, or even spinach, it’s up to you!

When it comes to searing salmon in a saute pan, it all starts with a hot pan and cold oil.  Once the oil begins to smoke, it’s time for cooking.  Place in your salt and pepper seasoned salmon and sear away.  Don’t be afraid to let it cook, calm those hands and don’t get to jumpy on trying to flip it over.  After a few minutes add in some unsalted butter to help it brown and then flip the salmon over.  Be sure to baste the salmon with browned butter constantly through out the cooking process.

Last but not least is the sauce.  Because I’ve got these nice umami, salt, savory, tart flavors in the farro salad and salmon, I thought a tad bit of sweetness would be perfect for the sauce.  It’s as simple as whisking together some full fat Greek yogurt, lemon zest, honey, chopped chives, salt and pepper.

Gently place the cooked salmon over top of the farro salad and add a dollop of the sweet lemon yogurt sauce to the top, finishing with a garnish of fresh oregano leaves.

NOW THIS IS PERFECTION MY FRIENDS!!

As I’ve gotten older and a lot more patient, mostly due in part to having a 3-year-old, I’ve been enjoying more and more the entire cooking process and the same goes with this Blackened Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos Recipe with Mango Salsa.  Whether that’s prepping everything beforehand or cleaning up.  Maybe it’s just pride in my cooking or my kitchen, but I’m enjoying the cycle in its entirety.  The crazy thing is that it can be any recipe too, even a grilled cheese for crying out loud.  I never thought I’d be at this point in my cooking career but I remember reading about it from my favorite chef, Thomas Keller who literally started to feel the exact same transition and his joy for all things cooking.  I think the foregone conclusion is that I’m getting old, DANG IT!

Since we’re finally coming out of the cold every day weather I wanted to spice a few things up by making this blackened mahi mahi fish tacos recipe.  It’s literally been soup and root vegetables for the past 4 months and I couldn’t be happier about Spring being here.  We are huge taco eaters in this family and we love trying out new recipes, so when I brought this up to Lindsay (my wife) she was like HECK YEAH!!!

I started it off my making my own blackening seasoning.  Don’t be intimidated, it’s not hard I promise, and most likely you’ve got the ingredients to make it already in your pantry.  If, however you don’t want to mess with it and you’ve got a premade blackening seasoning that you already love then just use that, no problem.

For the fish I went with mahi mahi and because it was literally unavailable fresh at 3 grocery stores I went with some really nice frozen fillets.  I simply thawed them out and placed them on paper towels to soak up some liquid which makes it easier to saute.

Ok, so I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.  Cabbage goes insanely well with fish tacos…  Between the crunchiness and flavor, it enhances fish tacos so much that it is a must every single time we make them.  The other thing I decided to add in the tacos are black beans.  Simply strain, rinse and heat up.  Our new long goose neck Franke faucet makes it really easy to rinse the beans and ensure anything drained from it goes right down the drain as opposed to our old short faucet where everything went on the countertop.

Now to start creating some yummy toppings!  There are two things I wanted to put on top of these tacos, some sort of crema and a salsa.  For the crema I mashed up some fresh avocados and whipped them with some Mexican Crema along with some lime juice salt and pepper.  It’s incredibly easy and packs a serious punch in the flavor department.

The mango salsa I put together and added to the top of the tacos is to die for.  I caught my father-in-law eating it with tortilla chips as a snack, but thank gosh I stopped him so we could use it for our tacos haha.  This salsa is a simply combination of mangos, jalapeños, red onion, green onions and red bell peppers tossed in a little lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Just be sure to keep the salsa cool before serving.

Cooking fish can be really tricky so here’s my two cents.  First, make sure it’s really dry before seasoning it.  In my case I patted the mahi mahi down with paper towels and dusted them on both sides with the blackening seasoning we made.  Next, get a large saute pan very hot on high heat and add in some cold oil.  Once the oil begins to lightly smoke, turn the heat down to medium-high and place in your fish.  Now, LET IT COOK!!!  Don’t sit there and get worried and start moving things around, give it at least 3 to 4 minutes before attempting to flip it over.  After that amount of time I usually give the pan a little shake and if the fish easily moves the pan then I know I’m ok to flip the fish over.  When the fish is finished cooking I put them back on some paper towels to rest and to drain any unwanted oil.

It’s now time to dress up each taco with as much or as little sides as possible…

For me I go all in and add as much as I can possibly fit into each taco.  Sure I may look crazy eating it but it’s the best way to get all of the ingredients in one awesome burst of flavor.

My wife really only likes the cabbage, fish, crema, salsa and of course some cotija cheese.  I leave the cheese garnished part up to whoever’s creating it because some people like more, some like less, and some like none at all because of the crema.

In the end we are loving our new kitchen and no matter what I’m making these days in there, I’m happy to be doing it.

It’s a challenge to get the rest of my family to eat seafood so anytime I can mask a bit of the flavor, or in my case enhance it, I give it a try.  This Hazelnut Crusted Snapper with Orange Butter is not only incredibly easy to make but wow is it bursting with flavor, and the best part is the family loved it.  I haven’t decided whether or not to tell my wife and daughter that the skin was still on the fish because she may flip out on me….  Maybe next time :-).

This method of crusting the fish can literally be used on just about all fresh water or ocean fish so don’t feel limited to apply it to only Snapper.  I started by soaking the fish in salted buttermilk.  I believe this helps to tenderize and flavor fish in addition to helping ensure the crust sticks to it.  To do this simply season some buttermilk in a pan with salt and pepper and then add in your scored snapper fillets.  If you’re deciding to leave your fish skin on be sure to take a few shallow slices on the skin so that it does not fold up when you are sautéing it.  Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and let is marinate/soak for at least 1 hour and as many as 4 hours.

While the fish is resting in the buttermilk in the refrigerator it’s perfect timing to prep up everything else, which isn’t much.  I sliced a few oranges fairly thin and then peeled and shaved some fresh ginger using a mandolin.  When you slice ginger this thin and roast it, it literally melts in your mouth and takes on this delicious sweet after taste that is AMAZING!

To make the Orange-Ginger Browned Butter simply heat up some oil in a large sauté pan and sear the oranges until just brown.  Next, add in the shaved ginger and fry along with the orange slices.  The next part is where a lot of the flavor comes in and that is had by squeezing in some fresh orange juice and then adding in quite a bit of butter and cooking over medium heat until browned.  Note that the butter should have a slight nutty taste to it when it’s done.  Set that pan aside and let’s get back to the fish!

Once the fish has finished marinating/soaking in the seasoned buttermilk add them one at a time to a pan with Bob’s Red Mill Hazelnut Meal.  Bob’s Hazelnut Flour is finely ground which makes is to incredibly easy to make crusted seafood such as this. When it’s ground as fine as it is it makes it so simple to ensure that all of the fish is covered, which is exactly what you want!  It’s also crucial to press the hazelnut meal into the fish so that it coats it well.  Now for the sautéing!!

Heat up a large saute pan and then add in some cold olive oil.  Once the oil begins to lightly smoke, turn the heat down to medium-high and add in the fish.  Use some unsalted butter pads and place them around the fish to help brown them.  After about 3 to 4 minutes of frying the fish flip them over carefully making sure to keep the crust on and either finish the fish in the oven on 400° for 6 to 8 minutes or over medium heat on the burner until crispy and cooked through out.  To finish it off, simply pour the orange ginger butter over top, garnish with some fresh chopped basil and serve!  It’s delicious and so easy to do!  Enjoy :-).