Dish of Fish with Celery, Basil
(click to enlarge)

Fish with Celery, Basil


Tanzania / California
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 w/rice
**
40 min
Part		 An easy and outstandingly tasty treatment for light colored fish fillets. I have modified the stepping to be gentle enough for Tilapia, thus Tanzania / California. See also Serving.

14
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1
1/2
1
1/2
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1
3
6
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3
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ar
oz
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t
T
t
---
c
T
cl
---
T
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Fish Fillets (1)  
-- Marinade
Green Chili (2)
Salt
Lime Juice (3)
Pepper, blk
--------
Celery
Basil, fresh (4)  
Garlic
----------
Butter
-- Serve with
Jasmine Rice
PREP   -   (45 min)
  1. Pat FISH FILLETS dry.
  2. Chop GREEN CHILI fine. Place in a mortar with Salt and pound to paste.
  3. Squeeze Lime Juice and mix all Marinade items.
  4. Gently rub Marinade into the Fish Fillets and set aside.
  5. Chop CELERY small. Measure is after chopping.
  6. Chop BASIL small. Set 1 T aside for Garnish and add the rest to the Celery.
  7. Crush GARLIC and chop fine.
RUN   -   (20 min)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 qt is good for fitting fish fillets), melt Butter. Stir in Celery mix and fry stirring over very moderate heat until Celery is tender, but still has some crispness - no browning.
  2. Stir in Garlic and fry stirring for another minute.
  3. Spread Celery evenly in the pan and place Fish Fillets over it so they don't touch the pan. Spoon some Celery over the Fish from spots not covered by fish.
  4. Pour in 3 T Water. Cover tightly, and let steam for 4 to 5 minutes (longer for fillets thicker than Tilapia.
  5. Using a thin flat turner, hoist Fish onto serving dishes (see Serving), spoon some of the Celery mix over, and garnish as desired.
NOTES:

  1. Fish Fillets:

      The writer of the pattern recipe prefers Nile Perch, Kingklip, or Tuna. The first two are completely unavailable in North America, and even in Tanzania, Kingklip must be imported from Namibia or South Africa. Fresh Tuna is not much seen here except in sushi bars. I used Tilapia, but other reasonably firm light colored fillets would also work. Tilapia is a truly African fish, found in all the lakes and rivers of East Africa. It is a fine and popular fish - but despised by chefs. Everyone knows it's not expensive, so how can they jack the price up? 14 ounces will likely be 3 Tilapia fillets, but may be just two of other fish.

  2. Green Chili:

      Whether you use Jalapeño or hotter Serrano is up to you. Whether you clean out seeds and veins is also up to you. Use your own best judgement. I use a seeded Serrano with much of the veins left in.

  3. Lime Juice:

      Lemon Juice is also acceptable, but either must be fresh squeezed.

  4. Basil:

      The pattern recipe presumes regular green Sweet Basil, but my usual stores had only Purple Basil this week, so I used Cilantro for Garnish.

  5. Serving:

      This recipe works best with a bed of steamed Jasmine Rice on the serving dish. Lay the fish over the rice and spoon on the celery. This way the celery also seasons the rice as the fish is broken up.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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