If you haven’t guessed, my second love is fishing, primarily on my boat, the Ambrosia Mae, which, by the way was named after two of my favorite ladies of all times, my grandmothers, Ambrosia Gandarillas, and Mae Murphy Bradley.
Well, we’re in the heart of blackfish season. Blackfish, aka Tautog or just “Tog” are bottom feeding fish that dine primarily on lobsters, crabs, and mussels. You are what you eat, and blackfish, in addition to being great fighting fish, are simply delicious. Don’t bother asking for them at the fish market, as they are virtually unavailable commercially. Nope, you have to catch 'em to eat 'em. Here’s my favorite blackfish recipe:
Blackfish Scampi
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- Blackfish fillets cut into serving sized pieces
- Salt
- Pepper
- Paprika
- Chopped or dried Parsley (preferably fresh)
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- Garlic cloves
- Capers (optional)
- ¼ lemon
- Chardonnay
- Linguine
Cut blackfish fillets into serving sized portions. You be the judge on just what that is.
Start salted water for linguine. Pasta should hit the pot just before you start to cook the fish:
Salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley the fillets, then dredge in flour.
Cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/8” of olive oil. I prefer extra light oil. Heat the oil with a nice pat of butter in it. Saute crushed garlic in olive oil and butter until soft. With the pan hot and sizzling, toss in a teaspoon of capers, then drop in the seasoned fish, and saute for about 1 - 2 minutes, until browned. Turn the fish, saute for another 1 - 2 minutes, then squeeze in about 1/4 lemon, and a good shot of a nice chardonnay (no, I don't measure – use the glug, glug, glug approach). Do not turn the fish again.
It will bubble up and over the fish, then settle back down. Put a cover on the pan tightly, and reduce heat as low as it will go, so the fish poaches to finish cooking. Figure a total cooking time of 10 minutes per inch of thickness, including time spent sauteing. The fish should be done at about the same time as the pasta. Drain the pasta, toss in a little butter and/or olive oil, and serve with a piece of blackfish on top. Drizzle the sauce from cooking the fish over each serving. I like to break up the blackfish, as the juices add a lot of flavor to the linguine.
Put the rest of the chardonnay to good use.
Enjoy.
