Recipe – Robalo with a Peanut and Pumpkin Seed Crust

Here is another new recipe from last Saturday when Johnny Boy dropped by. When we left for the market I asked Normita what she felt like eating, and she wanted some fish. Our fish merchant had some nice thick robalo filets, a common fish here from the snook family, fresh from Golf Coast. We selected a particularly thick one and had 6 nice fish sticks about 1" square and 5" long cut out of the filet. I still was not sure how I would prepare them, but I finely decided to do something simple and bread them in a crust of peanuts and pumpkin seeds.

The fish turned out meltingly juicy and tender, in a nice crispy crust. A great tasting combination, from a very simple and easy recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/4 pound robalo cut into 8 fish stick about 1" square by 5" long
4 heaping tbs flour
1 heaping tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper, freshly ground
2 eggs
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp heavy cream
3/4 cup ground peanuts
3/4 cup ground pumpkin seeds
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil

Preparation

1. Prepare 3 bowls wide enough to be able to dip the fish sticks in them.
2. In the first bowl place flour, onion powder and salt, and mix with spoon until well combined.
3. In the second bowl break the 2 eggs, add the tsp of olive oil, and the tsp of heavy cream.
4. With a fork whisk the eggs gently until you have a smooth homogeneous mixture.
5. In the third bowl place the ground peanuts and pumpkins and mix together well.
6. Take a fish stick and place in the flour bowl until well coated on both sides.
7. Pass the fish stick through the egg mixture until well coated on both sides, then let drip the excess.
8. Place the egg-coated fish stick in the nut mixture until all sides are coated well.
9. Place on a wire rack to dry.
10. Rinse your fingers and repeat with the other fish sticks.
11. Place the wire rack in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes for the breading to dry.
12. In a large frying pan on a medium fire melt the butter and add the olive oil.
13. Cook fish sticks in the butter 3-4 minutes per side, until well browned for a total of around 7-8 minutes.
14. Put on a plate lined with paper towels to drain, and serve.

Lucito