Unseasonable Eating

Hi folks! I know you've missed me. I'm going to jump over all the apologies and explanations and just say I'm going to make a concerted effort to post more around here. If for no other reason than it gives me a reason to be excited about cooking and dining out and arranging things artfully on a plate.

So winter is a little boring in the cooking department. For some reason I get tired of all the heavy stuff -- the stews, the chilis, the roasted vegetables, the red meat. So while I think seasonal eating is awesome when the market is stuffed full of fresh local fruit and vegetables, when it's just kale and parsnips I get a little bored. I was missing the lighter side of the palate so we fudged a little bit and used unseasonal (at least in this hemisphere) mangos and plantains to do a little Caribbean dinner. Pan seared haddock, rubbed in a Cajun blend of spices, atop cilantro brown rice, topped with mango salsa, with a side of fried plantain slices. I feel like a waitress in the Bahamas for just writing that out. I know, I know, it was extremely unfoodie and possibly unethical to construct a meal chiefly of things that were flown in 1,000 of miles but there is only so much "comfort food" one person can take.

I at least went enviromentally conscious on the wild haddock (red snapper would have been more in keeping with the theme but also more expensive since he doesn't live around here). Honestly I think tilapia would have worked better, but this worked well, despite a few bones that made me paranoid of choking to death.

Anyways, the mango salsa was my job mostly because it's super easy. Here's what I did: chop up 1 mango, half an onion, a big handful of fresh cilantro, half a tomato, and a 1/3rd of an anaheim pepper. Add olive oil, lime juice, and salt to taste, along with Sriracha for some heat. Some jicama and red onion and jalapenos are all good substitutions. And anything citrus is in season (in FL or CA anyway) so you can make your concessions there if your ethical code requires it.

The fish was rubbed with a blend of cayenne, cumin, black pepper, red pepper, whatever you want pepper, on the side that doesn't have the skin on it. Then pan seared about 4 minutes per side. You can finish it in the oven or broiler if you have a thicker fillet and don't want to dry it out.

Plantains: you get the almost black ones, slice them in half and remove the peel, and then slice them and fry them. That's it. Although I would probably have slice ours thinner because they can be dry and a little mealy (potato-like) if the chunks are too big.

The rice was cooked like rice is cooked (honestly that's not my field of expertise but you boil it in water, or so I've heard). Then when it was close to being done, the Boy drained the rice, dumped the water and finished cooking it in butter and chicken stock. He promises me that he only used 1 tablespoon of butter. I guess I believe him. So it's kinda like a risotto but kinda not. And then more cilantro was added in there because no meal can have too much cilantro especially when it's the middle of winter and it feels like centuries since you've seen sunlight or guacamole or your own forearms.