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Sam's Quick Cooking Tip: Much of the chopping in my recipes is done in a food processor. If you
haven’t used this machine for chopping before, it will take a little getting used to
but soon you’ll be flying high. The principle technique is to put big chunks of (not
whole) onion or cucumber in the bowl of the processor, then pulse, meaning to turn the
machine on and off in quick bursts using the pulse bar. This prevents chopped onions from
becoming onion slush. The second technique involves adding small ingredients through the
chute (sometimes called the feed tube) while the motor is running. This enables garlic and
chile peppers to be puréed more finely than if chopped from a dead start.
Fish fillets for pan frying offer many more variations than meat
or poultry. Almost any reasonably firm white-fleshed fish such as pollack, scrod, or sea
bass can be substituted for the snapper in this dish. The amount of salsa is a little more
than you may need, but it’s a nice treat with tomorrow’s tortilla chips.
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 teaspoon plus salt to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Four 6-ounce red snapper fillets, pin bones removed
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sliced pickled jalapeno peppers or 1 fresh jalapeno pepper
1 small sweet onion such as Vidalia or mild red onion, about 4 ounces
1 pound tomatoes
10 sprigs cilantro
Method
1) While the hot-water tap runs, put the rice in a 2-quart saucepan.
Add 2 cups hot water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the
heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep covered until ready
to serve. (Or put the rice, 2 cups of the hot tap water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 2-quart
microwave-safe container. Cover and cook in a microwave oven on high power for 10 minutes.
Keep covered until ready to serve.)
2)Meanwhile, put the oil and butter in a large heavy skillet over
medium-high heat while you season the fish with salt and pepper. Put the flour on a pie
plate or wax paper. Dredge the fish in the flour, shaking off any excess. Add the fish to
the skillet, skin side down, and cook for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 4
minutes on the other side or until the fish feels springy to the touch.
3)While the fish and rice cook, drop the pickled jalapeno down the
chute of a food processor with the motor of running. (If using a fresh jalapeno, stem and
seed it first). Stop the motor and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber
spatula. Peel and quarter the onion. Add to the processor and pulse a few times to chop
very coarsely. Core and quarter the tomatoes. Remove the leaves from 6 of the cilantro
sprigs. Add the tomato, cilantro, and salt and black pepper to taste to the processor.
Pulse until the salsa is fully combined but still somewhat chunky.
4)Divide the fish and rice among four plates and garnish with the
remaining cilantro sprigs. Spoon some of the salsa over the fish. Put the remaining salsa
in a small bowl for the table.
Serves 4
