Recipe blog: Blackened catfish filet and beefy mushroom pasta

I'm on a roll...two posts in one night!!!  I'm focused maaaan, lol.  So, after receiving the WONDERFUL news that I'd won the FFC year of wellness competition, I decided that a celebratory dinner was definitely a necessity.  There was a time, not all that long ago, that would have meant dining out at my favorite restaurant.  As we now know, restaurants have become my enemy and honestly I crave the home cooked meals that I create in my kitchen.  When I say create, most of my meals I come up with in my head.  I sit and think about what flavors I want and from there I come up with a plan.  This day I wanted catfish fillets but I didn't want them fried...I wanted to elevate them.  People often frown upon the catfish because they say its "dirty" but if you season it and prepare it right it can be a gem.  That's when I decided to blacken it.  I also had a hankering for pasta but to cut back on the carbs decided to bulk it up with veggies.  Mushrooms and green beans were on sale and voila!  Dinner was decided!

This is my finished plate.  Blackened catfish fillet and beefy mushroom pasta and of course an ice cold seltzer water to top it off.

So now to tell you how I did it.  I would have preferred shallots in this pasta but since I already had a sweet onion, and was on a budget, that's what I used.  I chopped up the onion on the small side, as well as some cremini mushrooms and two portobello mushroom caps.  I sauteed this in a heavy bottomed skillet with a couple shakes of extra virgin olive oil.  As they begin to soften, I seasoned them with kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes.  After about 5-7 minutes I added some healthy glugs of Worcestershire sauce.  This sauce is amazing and can be used in so many ways.  Most people use it to season beef and steaks.  Mushrooms can mirror the beefiness of meat and this flavor is called umami.  I wanted to play on this thus using the Worcestershire to simply highlight the umami flavor.  I let this cook down until most of the Worcestershire cooked out and then added about 3/4 of a cup of beef broth.  This added a richness and depth to that beefy flavor.  Everything came up to a soft bubble and I let it reduce so that the liquid could thicken some.  

Meanwhile, I focused on my fish.  In a ziploc bag I combined:

• 2 tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder 

Now you certainly can add or subtract spices as you see fit.  Typically I would have added some cayenne for spice, but I was making some for my father who can't have it so I just chose to omit it.  Surprisingly you don't need salt.  The Old Bay provides enough salt and any additional salt will alter the taste of the seasoning.  I also added a little fresh cracked black pepper but not too much because it can be a bit overpowering.  I put a medium high heat under a cast iron skillet and allowed it to get hot...I mean really hot.  I made sure my fillets were dry and sprinkled my seasoning with a heavy hand.  Since this is blackened catfish you want to make sure that you cover the top of the flesh VERY well.  After ensuring the skillet was hot enough I added a couple shakes of extra virgin olive oil and placed the fish flesh side down so they could sear.  While they are developing their crust you don't want to move or bother them because you risk tearing your fish.  When they are ready to be flipped they will let you know because they will have released from the skillet and you won't have any problems picking them up and flipping them.  I then put them in a 400 oven for 20 mins so they could finish cooking through.

By this time the liquid in my mushrooms had reduced my half and I added my prepped green beans.  To get them ready I just chopped off the ends and halved them.  I wanted them to cook a bit to get rid of some of that raw taste, but I wanted them to still have bite which is why I waited until the end to add them.  I boiled some whole grain thin spaghetti  to al dente and added it straight from the pot to the sauce and tossed it well.  I than allowed it to sit for a few moments so the pasta could continue to cook and absorb some of that fragrant and luscious sauce.  I took my fish out of the oven once it was firm to touch, gave it a squeeze of fresh lime juice to brighten up the flavors and it was dinner!!!  

The fish was deliciously moist and flaky.  It was so flavorful without being overpowering.  The seasonings were balanced and worked really well together, but the catfish was still the star of the dish.  The mushrooms tasted really hearty and earthy and the crispy beans gave a nice change in texture.  I ate the leftover pasta and mushrooms for lunch the next day and it was still delicious so it stores in the fridge well.  Please give this a try and let me know how it turns out!!!  Happy cooking!!!