Chatham Hooked Haddock with Roasted Cauliflower and Golden Raisin, Caper and Pine Nut Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Here's a recipe from Michael Leviton of Lumiere in Newton, Mass. This easy, elegant, healthy dish from the chef made Andy, me and our friends very happy.
For the vinaigrette
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons toasted pinenuts
4 tablespoons rinsed capers
4 tablespoons golden raisins – briefly soaked in hot water
2 tablespoons minced chives
Place the lemon juice in a small mixing bowl. Slowly add the oils while whisking constantly. Reserve the vinaigrette base. The rest of the ingredients will be added just before the vinaigrette goes on the plate.
For the cauliflower
1 cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces florets
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
Heat a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over high heat. Add the butter. When butter melts, add the cauliflower and sauté over medium-high heat until lightly browned and barely warmed through. Season lightly with salt and pepper and reserve. Let cool to room temperature.
For the haddock
4 6 ounce skinless portions of hooked haddock – preferably from the loin
1 egg
1 cup milk
Semolina dredge – recipe follows
8 tablespoons ( ½ cup) canola oil or, preferably, clarified butter
In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg and milk together.
Place the haddock in the "egg wash." Dredge the haddock in the semolina, dusting off any excess. Place on a cookie sheet or a plate. Try not to let the pieces of fish touch each other.
Heat 2 large sauté pans over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add 4 tablespoons of oil to each pan. Add the fish and cook over medium heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the fish over and cook until the other side is also golden. Remove from the heat. Drizzle the fish with some lemon juice and remove from the pan.
While the haddock is cooking, re-heat the cauliflower in a medium sauté pan. This can be done either on top of the stove over medium-low heat, or in the oven (about 7 minutes at 500 degrees works very nicely). When the cauliflower is hot, add the parsley and adjust the seasoning. Place one-fourth of the cauliflower in the center of each of four plates,
Combine the remaining vinaigrette ingredients with the vinaigrette base. Spoon a few tablespoons of the completed vinaigrette around each mound of cauliflower.
Top with the fish and serve.
Semolina Dredge
2 cups semolina
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Combine all of the ingredients and mix well
Notes
NB: Chef Leviton, a stickler for sustainable, specified hooked local haddock, which of course I couldn't find. I substituted frozen Pacific cod, per the recommendations of Seafood Watch. Eating seafood these days is extremely confusing; I go into all the various fish issues in my book.