Corn Cakes and Sea Beans

J. H. Moesman, 1909-1988
The Rumor, 1935-1941
Oil on Canvas, 120 x 100.5 cm
Private Collection
Self-Taught Dutch Surrealist Painter and Typesetter

Although I have nearly phased fish out of my diet almost completely, I awoke last Tuesday craving a fresh fish salad, so I decided to whip up one last hurrah as I made the shift for good.

Rockfish, or striped bass, is a delicate white flakey fish that literally melts in your mouth in its lightness, so my choice of fish was simple after thinking about it for a spell and the way I chose to serve it bloomed quite quickly:

Lime infused corn cakes dressed with a rockfish salad that has been tossed in a cilantro and sea bean aioli, served with an organic mache goat cheese salad with toasted Texas pecans tossed in a light balsamic vinaigrette. As an alternative, you can also substitute the fish with freshly diced avocado, which, to me is equally refreshing.

Not only is this divinely delicious, it also happens to be incredibly easy to make. The corn cakes and the aioli can be prepared up to a day in advance, but the rockfish is best served at room temperature, so I suggest cooking the fish just before you are ready to serve. Furthermore, since mache is incredibly delicate, I strongly suggest not to dress the greens until moments before you serve so the leaves maintain their springy crispness.

Lime Infused Corn Cakes

2 cups masa harina
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil for frying

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the vegetable oil, water and lime juice. Briskly stir with a wooden spoon until thick yet smooth.

Scoop out the dough and pat into 7 rounds about 1/2 inch thick and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan and then fry the cakes, three to four at time, for 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer the fried cakes to a wire rack set over paper towels to drain.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the corncakes on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes and they have a slight hollow sound when tapped on the top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack set over paper towels.

Next, prepare your aioli.

Cilantro Aioli

½ cup hellman’s mayonnaise
juice of ½ a lime
2 tablespoons finely shopped cilantro
1 minced garlic clove
7 sea beans, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice and cilantro just until smooth. Add the garlic, sea beans, kosher salt and pepper, whisking till smooth. Season to taste as necessary and set aside or store in a glass container until ready to use. If you are serving the next day, do not quarter your cherry tomatoes until this time.

Photos by Knoxy

Rockfish

1 8-ounce Rockfish filet (wild caught)
kosher salt
black pepper
2 tablespoons salted organic cultured prairie butter, like Organic Valley

Remove any bones from your filet of Rockfish. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Melt the butter in a 12” skillet and when it begins to foam, add the fish and fry for 4-5 minutes per side until golden; longer if the filet is quite thick.

Transfer the fish to a plate to cool. When the fish is cool, flake the fish into pieces and toss in 3/4 of the the cilantro aioli with the quartered tomatoes. Reserve the remaining aioli for dipping.

If you are substituting the fish with avocado, dice two small organic avocados and immediately toss in the aioli to prevent the flesh from browning.

Now, prepare your salad. First rinse your mache and gently shake each bundle to remove any excess water and place on a paper towel to drain for about 10 minutes, leave-side down. If you drain it in a colander, make sure it is a large one to leave ample space for the greens as they have a tendency to cling together, trapping tremendous amounts of water in the layers of leaves.

In a small glass bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar with 3 teaspoons grape seed oil, and a pinch of kosher salt until homogenous.

Toast your pecans (preferably the Texas variety are far sweeter; other varieties can be bitter) in a 350°F oven for 7-10 minutes. The moment you can smell the nuts, they are done. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Gently toss your mache in half of the salad dressing. If the greens seem overly dry, then add the remainder of the dressing. The key here is to not over-dress the mache because it will cause the greens to wilt.

To Serve:

Take one of your corncakes and slice it in half the way you would a bagel. Place the bottom of the cake on your plate and then spoon the dressed rockfish over the cake. Lean the other half against the top of the cake an garnish with two sea beans.

Place a handful of the dressed mache on the plate and then crumble a bit of the goat cheese over the greens and add a few toasted pecans.

Serves 4

The remaining 3 corn cakes will keep nicely in a glass container for up to 3 days in the fridge. You can also freeze them for up to 3 weeks.