Speaking of Catfish Family Appetizer

 

I haven't actually talked about catfish for a long while,  so I feel the need to get back to it. Catfish, in my view, was born to be dunked in milk or egg, coated with cornmeal and fried crisp and golden. Although my favorite is the fried catfish, there are so many other tasty ways to eat it.  I have used it for fish tacos and, particularly in this weather, in catfish stew spiced with Caribbean curry powder.  Catfish is so versatile that you can bake it, encrusted in grated potatoes, grill it or broil it. with garlic, herbs and lemon or lime.

 You can add it into your favorite pasta dish or in put some of the sweet little morsels into salads.  Or, for example, you can or use it in little pastries as appetizers for a dinner party.  (See recipe below) Be careful, though, you may end up indulging so well in the little pastries, you may find you have left no room for the main dish.

Catfish and Goat Cheese Appetizers

Ingredients

1 - 15-ounce package folded, refrigerated, unbaked pie crusts (2 crusts)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3 TBS butter or margarine

1½ pounds U.S. farm-raised catfish fillets, cubed

8 oz fresh goat cheese or soft-style cream cheese

2 TBS chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil, crushed

Directions

1. Let pie crusts stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes according to package directions.
2. Unfold pie crusts.
3. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
4. With 3 1/4-inch round cutter, cut 8 rounds from each pie crust
5. In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in butter or margarine until tender.
6. Add catfish; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until flakes easily.
7. Use spoon to break into small pieces.
8. Add goat cheese or cream cheese and basil.
9. Cook and stir until cheese melts.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Spoon the catfish mixture evenly onto half of each dough round.
12.  Brush edge of crust rounds with beaten egg.
13. Fold crust rounds in half; press edges with fork to seal.
14. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
15. Brush tops with egg or milk. Cut small slit in top of each.
16. Bake in a 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is brown.
17. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe is a take on a dish from the US Catfish Institute Cookbook

Fried Catfish Middle Eastern Style

You will know from this blog that fish and catfish, in particular, are featured.  Searching always for new catfish recipes, this one is adapted from a recipe called Lahori Fish.  Lahore is a city in Pakistan.  It is not specifically for catfish, yet this recipe is delicious using my favorite river food.  You may find some new seasonings and ingredients in this recipe you might not have in your pantry, like gram flour (made from chickpeas), chaat masala and carom seeds.  No worries.  You can find them in Indian markets or online.

The fish is marinated in and covered with a thick  batter of gram flour (Besan) and spiced with carom seeds (Ajwain) and chaat masala, another spice mixture..

Ingredients

    * 1 kg, (about 2.2 lbs) catfish nuggets or fillet, cut into medium sized fillets/chunks)
    * bread crumbs
    * oil for frying

 

  * Batter:

    * 1/2 cup gram flour (Besan)
    * 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
    * 1 tsp red Chilli powder
    * 1 tsp crushed red chillies
    * 1 tbsp crushed whole coriander
    * 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
    * 1/2 tsp carom seeds (Ajwain)
    * 2 tbsp white vinegar
    * salt to taste
    * water, as required

Directions

    * Combine all ingredients for the batter with enough water to make a thick paste.
    * Apply this well on the fish.  Marinate for couple of hours so that some marinade is absorbed by the fish.
    * Now lightly coat with bread crumbs and set aside for 15 minutes.
    * Deep fry the fish, in batches, in hot oil until golden brown.
    * Drain and sprinkle fish with lemon juice and Chaat Masala.
    * Serve hot with salad and lemon wedges.