Blackened White Fish • Seafood Nutrition Partnership

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. sweet or smoked sweet paprika
1 Tbsp. freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder or garlic salt
1 tsp. dried, crushed thyme or rosemary
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4, 5 oz. Alaska Pollock or catfish fillets
1 cup loosely packed fresh herb leaves (such as parsley, mint, chervil)
Lemon wedges for serving
Created by chef Barton Seaver

Instructions

1.Lightly season fish with salt and let sit 20 minutes.
2.Mix all spices and dried herbs in a wide, flat bowl.
3.Heat a large cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed sauté pan over high heat until it is screaming hot.
4.Combine butter and oil in a small bowl and dip each fillet so it barely glistens on all sides.
5.Dredge each fillet in the spice mix, coating them evenly.
6.Place coated fillets in the pan and drizzle about 1 teaspoon of the butter/oil mixture over each fillet. Cook fillets undisturbed for 2 minutes before turning them to cook for another 2-3 minutes. The spices will have formed a colorful crust ranging from sunset red to midnight black. The fish is done when it flakes apart under gentle pressure of your finger.
7.Transfer fillets to serving plates, scatter with fresh herbs and garnish with lemon wedges.

Any white-flesh fish with relatively thin fillets like Acadia redfish, catfish, croaker, perch, snapper, tilapia or weakfish would be perfect partners to the bold flavors of this blackened spice blend created by chef Barton Seaver, adapted from New Orleans Chef Paul Prudhomme’s original.

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