The teen has been begging for some snapper so we ducked into Quik Stop in Port Isabel and picked up a lovely piece of Scarlet Snapper that I thought was just right to feed two people...two normal people.
I cooked it up with some orzo for dinner tonight...I took 1/3, gave him 2/3...and still he asks "is there more snapper?"
O.M.G.
A nice piece of fish, delicious orzo, a salad, garlic toast, fresh blackberries and whipped cream for dessert...I was beyond full. Oh yeah, the teen won't eat salad ...oh well...what's a mom to do? I just shrugged and offered him my fish skin...he loves it, me not so much. He smiled.
Scarlet Snapper with Orzo
Ingredients:
1-2 quarts water
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup whole wheat orzo pasta
2 tablespoons diced onion
Kosher Salt
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil if prefer)
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 white onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh basil
1-2 green onions, split and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic - through a garlic press
1 filet of Scarlet Snapper - skin on
Lemon Pepper to Taste
1/2 lemon thinly sliced
1/2 lemon reserved
Method:
Bring water and chicken broth to boil in a 3 qt saucepan. Add salt, chopped onion, and orzo pasta. Bring back to boil, reduce heat to medium and boil for 8 minutes. Drain, add 2 tablespoons of butter, and stir.
While orzo is cooking, add butter and EVOO to large skillet over medium high heat. Add diced onion, 1/2 of the basil, 1/2 of the green onion and garlic to pan, cook for 2-3 minutes. Push veg to the side and add the Scarlet Snapper filet to the pan, skin side down. Place lemon slices on top of fish. Cover pan with lid. Cook until lower half of fish is turning white. Move lemon slices off to the side and flip fish, scooting it to the side of the pan.
Add orzo to pan and stir in the the rest of the onion and basil. Lemon pepper the fish and return the lemon slices to the top of the skin side of the fish, return the lid to the pan and cook until fish is done (the entire fish cooking time took about 10-12 minutes for a .80 pound piece of fish).
Plate the orzo and place the fish on top of the orzo. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fish and serve.
Awesomely delicious!
Bon Appetit, Y'all!
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After posting this, I was reading about snapper - checking for "season" information, etc. I was told that this snapper was from the Gulf of Mexico, caught as by-catch or on lines by the shrimpers on their way back to dock. However, everything I read shows Scarlet Snapper sourced from the Indian Ocean. I will re-ask and see what answer I get this time... I'll keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteRed snapper has and always be one of my favorite fish. I used to eat quite a bit of it when I lived in Florida. The way you prepared it here does look amazing. Using the orzo as a base for this fish is a great idea! Wish I had been there to enjoy this dish-yum!
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