Inspiration on the river
A little while back, I went up to the Twin Cities for a Pinch of Yum Tasty Food Photography Workshop. What a great experience! If you're into food photography, it's a must. While I was there, I stayed at the Nicollet Island Inn. The hotel restaurant has big windows that over look the park and the river. You feel like you're sitting outside at a sidewalk cafe, but you're inside out of the unpredictable weather.
Revolutionary
I've had vegetables minced and rolled up as a roulade in pork, beef, and chicken, but never fish. It never occurred to me that you could do that with fish. I thought it would simply break or flake apart. When I got home, I made a bee line for the fish monger. I tried this with tilapia, flounder, trout, and swai. The last on the list is a light white fleshed fish that hails from Southeast Asia and is very similar to catfish. Steamed swai holds it's shape beautifully, has a mild flavor, and only flakes when urged to so with your fork. However, truth be told, I do like to get fish closer to home but I was intrigued by the name and thought I'd give it a go. It worked beautifully.
Steamed Fish Roulade**
Put a different twist on your next fish dish... literally!ย Light buttery fish wrapped gently around brightly colored veggies nestled over a bed of wild rice will make any weeknight seem like a special date night dinner.ย I like this because you can use ยฝ of the vegetables in a quick side salad. ?ย |www.lakesidetable.com
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tilapia filets bones and skin removed, filets should be no more than ยฝ inch thick.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 carrot julienned
- ยฝ zucchini julienned
- ยฝ red bell pepper julienned
- ยฝ lemon
- โ cup chopped fresh herbs (such as a mix of parsley, thyme & chives)
- salt and pepper
- Equipment
- steamer or steam basket; or cooling rack & light weight mixing bowl at least 8 inches wide*
- pot holders or oven mits
- toothpicks
Instructions
-
If you don't have a steamer, put a large skillet on the stove with ยฝ inch water.ย Put steam basket in the water, cover, and simmer.
-
Lightly salt and pepper the fish.
-
In a separate skillet, saute the vegetables until crisp tender with the olive oil then lightly season with salt and pepper.
-
Make 2 small bunches with the julienned veggies and wrap 1 filet around each bundle and secure with a tooth pick.
-
Place fish bundles in steamer or steaming basket*.
-
Steam for 15-20 minutes. (Keep checking water level, and fill as needed)
-
Remove from steam.ย Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with fresh herbs.
-
Serve on a bed of wild rice and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Try this Macgyver-esque steaming technique if you don't have a steamer or steam basket on hand.
- Place skillet over medium heat and fill with ยฝ inch water.ย Simmer.
- Place cooling rack over skillet.
- Put fish bundles on cooling rack. (Check water level, fill as needed).
- Cover with light weight bowl.ย To remove bowl, make sure to use oven mitts.ย It with be HOT!!!!
You can also you the ยฝ of the vegetables that you have left over in a nice side salad with lettuce.ย Use the remaining lemon with olive oil and salt & pepper as the dressing to jazz it up.
**Roulade - French for "wrapped around or rolled up"
Nutrition Facts
Steamed Fish Roulade**
Amount Per Serving
Calories 0
% Daily Value*
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Potassium 0mg0%
Vitamin A 0IU0%
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 0mg0%
Iron 0mg0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Surya says
This looks like a great meal!