down home crab and polenta stuffed catfish

One weeknight Adam and went to the grocery store looking for some dinner inspiration. We wandered around the Wholefoods produce section with zero bursts of genius, and then turned to the fish station where the brilliant idea hit me, "why don't we stuff something...with polenta!" And so this recipe was born. 

I can't tell you that it has any particular health benefit, besides the healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, but it's tasty! Since we wanted to use polenta we decided to go the elevated down home route - we chose catfish as our base, and threw some crab, jalapeno, and hot sauce in there. The polenta mixed with crab renders a creamy filling without the use of any dairy product. It's filling without dense or fatty ingredients, and goes great paired with a simple vegetable. We threw ours over a kale and white bean salad, and it made a great weeknight dinner.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1Lb Catfish

1/2Lb Lump Crab

1 Cup Polenta

1 Jalapeno, seeded & chopped

1 Medium Shallot, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2 Tsp Cayenne

1 Tsp Dry Mustard

2 Tsp Mesquite

1 Tsp Onion Powder

3 Tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Hot Sauce

1 Tbsp White Vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. While making your polenta, throw in the jalapeno and shallot, and let the mixture cook down.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together crab, polenta, spices, hot sauce, and white vinegar.

4. First cut your catfish in half, to have two identical fillets. Turn the fillet towards you, and cut horizontally through the thick end to make a pocket for your filling.

5. Spoon the polenta and crab mixture into your pockets, filling generously.

6. Place the filled catfish on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and stick in the oven to bake.

7. After 20 minutes, remove from oven and place a pat of butter atop each fillet. this will caramelize and give a crispy texture to the outer layer of fish. 

8. Replace everything in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cooked.

goat cheese polenta towers

We were in the mood to treat ourselves to something a bit more elegant than usual. Although the presentation may be deceiving, it's not difficult to make, but it is a great blend of flavors and a sight to see. Goat cheese polenta topped with eggplant, homemade tomato sauce, and sauteed shrimp - indulge yourself, you deserve it.

Polenta Ingredients (makes approx 5-6 servings):

3 Cups Water

1.5 Cups Cornmeal (you can use instant or finer consistency cornmeal if you would the process to go faster)

1 Tbsp Butter

2 Clove Garlic

1.5 Tbsp Goat Cheese

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Topping Ingredients:

1.5 Cups Homemade Tomato Sauce (or store bought)
half of one large eggplant

12 Shrimp

1 Clove Minced Garlic

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

1. Heat about 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large pan and add half of the chopped garlic. Stir about a minute until fragrant. Add the eggplant. Drizzle olive oil over the eggplant and stir. Cover the pan for a few minutes so steam builds up, this will help the eggplant soften without having to pour gallons of olive oil into the pan as eggplant acts like a sponge and will just soak it up. Remove the cover, stir. Add the tomato sauce and sauté for 5 minutes, lower heat and let simmer.

2. Heat butter in a medium pot and slightly brown garlic.

3. Lower heat and add water/cornmeal. Stir vigorously until polenta reaches desired consistency.

4. Heat a sauce pan over high heat. Add olive oil.

5. Place shrimp and minced garlic into the pan.

6. Cook shrimp until dark pink on both sides. Then add butter to get a nice crispy brown coloring on the outside.

7. Salt and pepper to taste.