Cornmeal Crusted Flounder
with corn and poblano salsa / gazpacho
A cornmeal crust and fresh, summery salsa elevate a budget-friendly fish into something special. The salsa features poblano peppers which are usually quite mild, but you can use green bell peppers (no spice) or jalapenos (more spice).
Smarts: If you are short on time, skip the breading steps. Just season the fish with salt and pepper and sear it in a pan.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes, heirloom preferable - 2 lb
- Cucumbers, medium - 1
- Garlic - 1 clove, peeled
- Oil, olive - 2 Tbsp
- Vinegar, red wine - 2 tsp
- Sugar - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin, ground - 1/4 tsp
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/2 tsp
- Flounder - 1 lb (sub any white fish)
- Flour - 1/2 cup
- Eggs - 1
- Milk - 1/4 cup
- Cornmeal, yellow - 1/2 cup
- Basil, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Onions, medium red - 1/2, chopped
- Poblano chilis, large - 1, chopped (sub any color bell peppers)
- Cilantro - 2 Tbsp, chopped
- Corn kernels, fresh off the cob or frozen - 1 1/2 cups
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Lime juice - 1 Tbsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions / Poblanos - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make gazpacho - Roughly chop tomatoes and cucumbers. Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, cumin and red pepper flakes (if using) in a food processor or blender. Pulse until a nearly smooth (we like to stop while it still has a bit of texture). Season with some salt and pepper or add more chili flakes if you would like. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so you can serve it chilled. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Cilantro / Corn - Chop cilantro. If using fresh corn, slice off cobs. If using frozen corn, defrost in the microwave. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Fish - Rinse and pat dry. Season with some salt and pepper.
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Make
- Heat oven to 450F / 232C. Lightly grease a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray or some oil.
- While oven heats, set out 3 shallow bowls for breading fish. In the first bowl, combine flour with some salt and pepper. In the second bowl whisk together eggs and milk. In the third bowl, combine cornmeal and dried basil.
- Coat fish first in flour, then in eggs / milk and then in cornmeal. Spread fish out onto sheet pan.
- Bake until fish flakes easily with a fork, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and then onions, poblanos and corn. Season with some salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and vegetables have started to blacken in spots (you'll get the most flavor from the salsa if the poblanos and corn are lightly charred), 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lime juice.
- Top fish with corn and poblano salsa. Enjoy with chilled gazpacho on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
34 reviews
Cornmeal coating didn't really cook well and it also seemed bland. The corn salsa was pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of gazpacho any time I've made it.
0 HelpfulYummy! Liked the salsa a lot. Used cornbread mix dredge for the fish, to save steps (already has flour in it) and I thought it was plenty flavorful. :)
0 HelpfulI found this meal to be pretty bland. I had to use cholula on the fish to give it any real flavor. The salsa was okay, but didn't seem to add anything to the fish except a little bit of texture. The gazpacho was fine, but I don't think I'll eat two and a half pounds of it.
0 HelpfulI skipped the cornmeal since I felt the corn in the salsa was starchy enough. I feel like this should've shown up on the menu in three or four weeks when tomatoes really start rolling in at farmer's markets (my local ones are still in strawberry/rhubarb/bok choy mode) to get better flavors. Wish I'd done a watermelon or bell pepper-heavy gazpacho instead.
0 Helpful