Creole Herb Battered Flathead with Parsnip and Wilted Spinach Puree, served with Charred Corn.

Part of growing with my blog and keeping myself interested and not overwhelmed by endless culinary technique is to keep learning myself. Today I learnt the art of the Parsnip Puree.

Parsnip is a root vegetable, closely related to the carrot. It’s creamy, rich and woody in flavour. It’s really complementary with meat and seafood and a perfect way to welcome winter eating.

The key to a perfect parsnip puree is to remove the woody core, which I had overlooked for a very long time. I didn’t even notice there was a core in parsnip, but it came out quite easy. By removing, you stop the puree from being grainy.

The hero of this dish is the Creole style battered flathead. Flathead is a firm, meaty fish without an overly fishy flavour, perfect for battering. Some people would argue that a battered flathead should be flathead in flour and lightly cooked in olive oil, and this is perfectly fine also. The idea of my heav(ier) batter was to pair this with the Creole seasoning, an ode to the warmth and opulence of the Deep South. Finishing the dish with fresh lemon really lightens the meal, however.

Ingredients

Yields 2 servings

Parsnip Puree

2 large parsnips

1 cup chicken stock

¼ brown onion

4 tbsp butter

1 garlic love

2 – 3 tbsp thick cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Creole Battered Flathead

4 flathead fillets

2 tbsp Creole spice mix

¾ cup plain flour

¾ cup ice cold water

½ tsp baking soda (as recommended by Rick Stein)

¾ cup olive oil

Fresh corn, char grilled

Directions

Start by cutting each parsnip in 2 halves. Starting from the bottom, with your hands and a knife, remove the core. Finish by cutting into quarters.

Sauté onions and garlic in half the butter, until just softened. Add the chicken stock and parsnips, cooking for 10-15 minutes, or until soft. In a pulsar or blender, add the parsnip and reduced stock with the remaining butter and cream.

In the hot pan, wilt spinach until a dark, emerald green. Add to pulsar and blend until soft and creamy.

In a separate pan, or on a grill, cook corn rubbed in olive oil. Do not turn often, as the corn needs to char. Once evenly cooked and charred, using a knife, shave downwards, taking off corn kernels.

Coat each flathead fillet lightly in flour. Combine flour, water, Creole spice mix and baking soda, mixing well. Coat fillets in batter and cook in heated olive oil on medium to high heat. Depending on the fillets, they do not need to be cooked for too long.

Rest for a minute on paper towels and serve immediately to keep the crunch.

To plate, smear puree on plate, topping with corn kernels. Serve with battered flat head and finish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice. 

Winter Fritters with Tuna, Corn and Courgette

Winter is definitely starting to set in, it’s harder to wake up, leave the house, in fact, the only thing that isn’t hard to do is eat. My winter alias is Juanita Solis. Today I served up beautiful winter fritters, with the base herbs warming the dish to bring the taste buds into season. The fritters are powered with chilli, cumin and smoked paprika and served with sweet chilli sauce and fresh mint leaves.

Ingredients

Yields 6 - 7

1 cup fresh corn

½ courgette/zucchini

1 small can tuna

1 regular potato

1 egg

½ cup flour

1 tsp chilli flakes

½ tbsp cumin

1 tsp powdered mustard

½ tsp smoked paprika

Mint leaves

Sweet chilli sauce  

Directions

In a bowl, combine grated courgette/zucchini, boiled potato, corn, tuna and herbs. Mix through to combine ingredients. Soon after add beaten egg and flour. The mixture should start to stick. On a medium heat, in olive oil, cook the fritters in a non stick pan, cooking 3 -5 minutes on each side. Press down once on each side, checking for excess liquid, a sign of a non cooked centre.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce and fresh mint leaves, for freshness. 

Grilled Corn Mexican Style

 One of my favorite restaurants in NYC is the cool Café Habana, where the waitresses’ sass matches the food. The café was inspired by the original, still operating in Mexico. In the heart of Soho, this small gem is an experience as much as it is a destination. It’s tiny and there’s always a wait, but it’s all completely worth it in the end. When friends come to visit, it’s a must on the to-go list. My two picks on the menu are the Cuban sandwich (with rice and beans) and the grilled corn. Café Habana was actually voted to have the best Cuban sandwich in NYC – IT’S TRUE. There is a Hispanic cheese that is used for the dish traditionally, however for the purpose of accessibility I’m keeping the cheese option wide open.  

 Hot sauce is amazing with this dish too, really, really amazing. The original recipe uses lime too. But this is optional

 

Ingredients

Serves two

2 corn in husk

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp mayonnaise

½ cup cheese

Salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

Bring water to boil and add butter and salt. Shortly after, add corn and cook for seven minutes. Once cooked, let corn stand to dry then grill all sides until corn starts to blacken to your liking. Follow by pasting mayonnaise onto the corn, coating liberally. Coat corn in cheese of choice then broil/grill until cheese is well melted. Dash with cayenne and salt to taste.