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As I continued my journey with Jamie’s America cookbook to the South part of U.S., I found more comfort food and some are more sinful. “Deep fried”. The thing about this crispy fish and corn salsa though, even though it is deep-fried, I’m surprised by how non-greasy it can be.
The fish was marinated in buttermilk and dredged with cornmeal and deep-fried quickly for about 2 minutes. Blot it with paper towels and that really do wonder. I really love this crispy fish and corn salsa. I strongly suggest using corn meal instead of regular flour because that’s really add the extra crunch to the fish. Suitable fish for this dish can be fillet of branzino, snapper, cod, turbot, pollock, haddock and avoid oily fish for this recipe. Even scallops are good if you cook it like this.
The corn salsa itself is so flavorful. I like the idea of seasoning the salsa with soy sauce. That’s one of the reasons I like Jamie Oliver’s recipe because he always infuse flavors from different cultures and they always work wonder. The salsa tastes better the longer it sits.
CRISPY FISH AND CORN SALSA
Ingredients
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 4 meaty fish fillets
- 1 quart vegetable oil
- 1 ⅔ cups fine cornmeal or plain flour (I strongly suggest using cornmeal because it's really nice)
- 2 lemons , cut into wedges for serving
- CORN SALSA:
- 2 fresh ears of corn , husked
- 1 fresh red chile , seeded and minced
- 2 ripe medium-sized tomatoes , diced
- ½ yellow bell pepper , seeded and diced
- 2 scallions , peeled and minced
- ½ clove garlic , finely grated
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- A small handful of mint leaves , roughly chopped
- Smoked paprika
Instructions
- Pour the buttermilk into a bowl. Season the fish pieces with salt and pepper and then soak them in the buttermilk for about an hour - this will do really nice things to the fish's texture
- Make your salsa: Put your corn into a hot dry grill pan and lightly char it all over, about 20 minutes, this will really bring out the flavor and sweetness of the corn. Remove the corn to a plate and let it cool a bit, then carefully run a small sharp knife from top to bottom to remove those beautiful kernels of corn. Discard the cobs and put the kernels into a bowl with all the other salsa ingredients and a pinch of salt, pepper and paprika. Stir it all up and have a taste to get the seasoning right - you want heat from the chile, freshness from the mint, and salt to cut through it all
- Get a large, sturdy, deep saucepan over high heat, pout in your vegetable oil, and heat it to around 350 F. If you don't have thermometer, put a small piece of potato, and when it rises to the top and turns crispy and golden, you know the oil is ready
- Put your cornmeal or flour onto a large plate and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Take a piece of fish out of the buttermilk and let the excess drip off, then roll it in the cornmeal or flour. Do the same thing with all of the fish, then carefully lower it into the pan of oil using tongs or perforated spoon. You may need to fry the fish in batches
- Deep-fry the fish for 2 to 3 minutes (depending on how big your fillet is), until golden, crisp and brown. Do not overcook your fish or it will be tough just like any other seafood
- Remove the fish to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt. As soon as the last batch is ready, divide most of your salsa between your plates, pop the pieces of fish on top, and finish with a touch more salsa. Serve with arugula or a crisp green salad if you have, and wedges of lemon if you like
