Cornmeal Halibut with Corn Salsa

Last year for Christmas I gave Steve a cookbook that is spin off product from the Men's Health magazine called "Cook This, Not That" and since he unwrapped it we have been cooking our way through the book. Some of the notable dishes we have made from it are:

• Pesto Gnocchi with Green Beans & Tomatoes - May 29, 2012
• Grilled Steak with Red Wine Butter - May 21, 2012
  
• Chicken Parm on a Monday Night - March 19, 2012
• A New Twist on Classic Mac & Cheese - Feb. 22, 2012
• Valentine's Dinner - Part 2 (Ravioli) - Feb. 12, 2012

One of the recipes that we had been eying up for some time now was that 'Cornmeal Catfish with Corn Salsa'. And as you can see from the title of this post, we chose to use halibut instead of catfish.

Here are all of the ingredients that you will need for this recipe:

• 4 tsp canola oil
• 1 ear corn, kernels removed from the cob (we just used a can of corn kernels)
• 1 can (16oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 avocado, pitted and cut into cubes
• juice of one lime (plus wedges for garnish - optional)
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• salt and black pepper
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 catfish fillets (we just used 2 halibut fillets) 6oz each

And here is how we brought it all together:

1.  Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the corn kernels and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and warm through. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the avocado, lime juice, and jalapeno; season with salt and pepper.
2. Pour the cornmeal onto a large plate; season with the cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Dredge the fillets in the cornmeal until evenly coated.
3. Heat the remaining 3 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet or saute pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the catfish (or in our case the halibut) and cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until the coating is golden and crispy and the fish flakes easily. Serve the fish topped with the salsa along with additional lime wedges, if you like.

This dish was very tasty! It was our fish time using cornmeal as a coating and we loved the texture and added flavor it gave to the recipe. The salsa made a lot more than we had imagined but luckily it was so good and was used in many other dishes over the next few days.

Give this recipe a try when you are looking for a good crunchy fish dish with a Mexican flare!

Bon appetite & enjoy!

This recipe is from:
Cook This, Not That! - Kitchen Survival Guide
The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution
David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding
Rodale Inc. 2010
Page 244