Fish!!

                                 

Fish night!!!  We love orange roughy.  I thank my darling husband/best friend for introducing me to this fish.  It is truly my favorite.  It has a firm texture not unlike salmon or tuna.  I got burned out on fish several years ago working at a local seafood place.  But, knowing how healthy it is and how much we need to eat healthy we are trying to have it more often.  I have been fixing it in every non-battered way I could think of or look up on the internet but today decided to take that nostalgic trip back to the batter.  I looked at several recipes and kind of took them all and made up my own.  I also wanted to do something new with the asparagus that was on the menu.  And to round out the plate I fixed my go-to brown rice.  (The onion rings were a last minute addition because I had so much batter left from fixing the fish.   I just hate to waste anything.)

Batter for fish or onion rings
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp ceyenne pepper
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it well, add more water if you want it thinner.  I was adding by the teaspoon until I got it where I wanted it.  Not runny but not clumpy.

Dry your fish off well.  I put two inches of oil in my medium sized pot and brought it up to 350 degrees.  Coat the fish completely with the batter and put it in the oil carefully.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.  It really depends on how big you cut your fish.  I cut mine fairly small.  Three bites worth for each piece.  (Sorry I am not very exact.  I don't have a scale yet to weight portions.)
I then cooked the onion rings just until they were golden.  They don't take long.

Asparagus with Bacon
I bunch of asparagus cut into one inch sections
4 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
1/2 small onion sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
salt and black pepper (I did 8 grinds of pepper and 4 grinds of salt)

cut up and cook three slices of bacon until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Take that out of the pan and add to the grease all the rest of the ingredients.  Cook on medium high for about 8-10 minutes.  The time depends on the diameter of your asparagus stems.  If you get the small ones they will be the 8 minutes, the thick stems will probably take the full 10.  At 8 minutes I tasted one to see if it was done enough for me and it was.  Add the bacon back to the pan and stir it one time.

Spicy Brown Basmati
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small onion chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic chopped finely
1 jalapeno chopped finely
1 Tbs Mrs Dash Southwestern Spice
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup brown basmati

Put the oil in your pan on medium high.  Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno and spice and cook this until tender. Add the chicken stock and rice and stir.  Put a lid on the pan.  Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to simmer.  This will need to simmer for 45 minutes.  Take off the heat and fluff and let it rest for a few minutes.


The white stuff on the fish in the picture is a little tartar sauce I whipped up.  So easy...

Tartar Sauce
1/4 cup light mayo
1 Tbs dill pickle relish
1/4 tsp lemon juice
Combine well


I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.  The fish was nice and moist inside, the asparagus was killer and the rice was nice and spicy.  Truly satisfied with this meal.  Yummmm