Recipes from the Ono Sunday

Basa with Tangerine Macadamia Nut Sauce and Purple Sweet Potato Mash

Serves 2

Note about Basa: from Oz, this mild skinless filet goes great with many sauces. Any mild, skinned fish filets will do for this recipe.
Note about Okinawan Sweet Potatoes: These can be found in an Asian Produce Store. If you cannot find them, you could substitute yams or white sweet potatoes.

Basa Ingredients:

2 Basa Fillets
½ Cup XX Flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups Panko Crumbs
Salt, Pepper and Piment d Espelete Powder (this may be difficult to find, you can also use good quality paprika) to season the crumbs. If you like a little kick, use hot paprika.

½ cup canola oil for frying

Sauce Ingredients:
Juice from 4-6 large tangerines (should equal about 1 cup)
Zest from 2 tangerines
2 shallots, finely chopped
¼ cup Macadamia Nuts roughly chopped
6 sprigs of lemon thyme

2 tablespoons canola oil (macadamia oil would work too if you can find it)

Sweet Potato Mash Ingredients:

2 Cups of peeled cut up Okinawan (purple) Sweet Potatoes cut into large chunks
Water or Chicken Broth to cover potatoes
1 Tbs Salt (I use a smoked sea salt that I make)
1 cup of milk (approximate)
2 Tablespoons of butter
4 Tablespoons chopped scallions or chives
Additional salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Place the potatoes in a pan with water & salt. Boil till tender (about 15 minutes) then drain and remove from heat.

Start sauce by sautéing the chopped shallots till they start to turn color. Add the mac nuts and toast a bit, then add the juice, zest and thyme. Turn down the flame to as low as your stove allows and allow the sauce to reduce by half.

Put out three dishes for breading, first one has flour in it, the second has the eggs and milk and the final one has the Panko Crumbs. Add oil to pan and heat on medium flame to about 350 degrees. Dredge the fillets through the flour, then into the egg wash, then into the panko crumbs. Add to hot oil and gently sauté till golden on each side (turn carefully with a large spatula). Drain on a paper towel and keep warm.

Mash or rice the sweet potatoes ( I used a sick blender because my ricer is somewhere over the Pacific right now) with milk and butter. Season to taste. I also add Piment d Espelete. Heat to desired temperature. Garnish with chives.