Fish, Grits, Sautéed Okra and Kale Salad

This recipe makes enough for 4 people.  It’s southern inspired. It’s super healthy. It’s flavorful. Someone will love you afterwards. Enough said.

Do everything below in the following steps so the whole meal will only take you about 40 minutes, the total cooking time needed for yellow organic grits. I don’t believe in standing up for a long time in the kitchen! And please clean while you cook so it’s painless at the end.

GRITS

I like the whole grain organic yellow grits. More flavor and more nutrition than the white grits we grew up on and, quite honestly, yellow grits are more appealing to the eyeballs.

1 3/4 cup water
1/4 cup cream or half/half
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup yellow grits
Couple turns of crushed red-pepper flakes
Couple dashes of your favorite hot sauce
3 crushed garlic cloves
Fresh back pepper
1 teaspoon grass fed butter

Bring water, cream and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. This happens fast with the addition of the cream so watch it closely! Lower flame to low and whisk in grits until mixture thickens slightly. Add crushed red-pepper, hot sauce, garlic cloves and cover.  Cook for about 30 – 40 minutes to your personal taste. (I like my grits creamier which is the reason for the cream.)  Vigorously whisk grits every 5-10 minutes during cooking time. If grits start sticking too the bottom of the pan or get to thick, add a couple more tablespoons of water. Once done to your personal grit preferences, whisk in butter. Adjust seasoning to taste. Grits should taste well seasoned but neither salty, spicy or buttery.

KALE SALAD

2 bunches lacinato kale, washed, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
Juice of 1 lemon

Massage the kale in a large bowl with lemon juice to tenderize the leaves. Set aside.

SALAD DRESSING

1 minced shallot
1/2 garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Sancerre white wine (drink the rest with brunch!)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard (I like tarragon Dijon mustard if you can find it)
1 teaspoon fresh minced parsley
4 tablespoons very good olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together shallot, garlic, vinegar, wine, salt, pepper, mustard and parsley. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until you create an aioli. Set dressing aside and let the flavors come together while you finish the meal. You will toss the salad right before serving.

(Jackie Tip ?…this dressing tastes fricking good on just about everything!!! Vegetables, pasta, chicken, any lettuce, etc. Adjust the flavors to your family’s taste preferences. The only must is your acid to oil ratio. And food needs to be well seasoned, especially salad dressing!)

(IMPORTANT STEPS: Once you get the grits started and your salad prepped, prep your fish in the egg mixture and make your flour mixture as described below.  Set this aside and slice the okra cause things start moving fast! If you do not listen to me here, you will either burn the fish or burn the okra. So don’t be hard-headed and do your own thing.)

FISH

Buy a fresh, wild white fish. Not previously frozen.  Have the fishmonger remove the skin and slice it into 4 inch wedges.  This step at the grocery store makes your prep much easier!

1 1/2 lb fish rinsed and patted very dry with paper towels
3 whole eggs
Sea salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Olive oil
Grass fed Butter
Juice of 4 fresh lemons

(Jackie Tip ?: Nobody, and I do mean nobody, not your momma, not your 90 year old grandma, not your husband or wife, not your kids, not your tastebuds will know that you used whole wheat instead of white flour. But your waistlines, your leather pants and your heart will definitely know and that’s all that matters folks!)

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Crack and scramble eggs in a medium bowl with a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Make sure the bowl is large  enough to hold all the fish.  Toss fish in egg mixture. Set aside.

Put whole wheat flour with a couple pinches of sea salt & pepper in a bowl which has a lid. Take each piece of fish, let residual egg drip off, add fish to flour mixture. Put lid on bowl and shake fish to coat it with flour (side eye your significant other right now, shake your hips and wink too cause it’s about to go down!)

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter. Swirl to coat pan. Once bubbling, shake excess flour off fish, gently add fish to pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side to achieve a nice pretty brown. Turn with tongs, not a fork. If you use a fork, you pierce out the juices. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook fish in batches. Wipe out pan between batches and repeat oil/butter process for each fish batch. Place sautéed fish on a baking sheet lined with foil (avoids mess!) Once you have sautéed all the fish, place baking sheet in oven for 6 minutes.

Put your sauce pan back on the heat, add lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper, whisk until reduced slightly. Set sauce aside. Use this sauce as a nice bright and healthy sauce for your fish.

OKRA

1 lb fresh okra sliced 1/2 inch thickness
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Sea salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons white vinegar

While the fish finishes in the oven, heat coconut oil on high heat heat in wok. Toss in okra, coat with oil and then season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender but still has crunch (about 5 mins).  A wok cooks everything fast so keep an eye on the okra so it doesn’t burn. Once okra is still bright green but has a little char, stir in vinegar until it cooks off (about 20 seconds). Remove from heat.

(Jackie Tip ?: Don’t use olive oil in a wok.  The olive oil gets too hot, too fast and burns the olive oil which, in turn, makes your food taste yucky.)

We’re almost done, let’s get the food on the table quick. I hate cold food!

Toss the kale with the dressing. Have your significant other divide the salad on salad plates. This makes them feel like they contributed to the meal even though all they did was sit and watch televsion while you slaved in the kitchen. I digress. Crack some pepper on top of the salad.

Divide creamy-goodness-grits on plates, top with fish, drizzle with lemony pan sauce, dash that fish with your favorite hot sauce. Surround the fish and grits with the okra. Get busy!

Thank you for stopping by Jackie Unfiltered and cooking with me!

xoxo,

Jackie