Bon Appétit (September 2015)
There were a lot of things in the September Bon Appétit that stopped us in our tracks. It's the magazine's annual Best New Restaurants issue, and it's filled with buzzy new chefs, great cooking tips and tantalizing dishes we'd like to sample.
One thing that really drew us in was this fish, which is served at Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis. It's one of those aha! dishes that you can't believe you've never thought of before: Instead of crusting a piece of fish in breadcrumbs or panko or almonds, Chef Gavin Kaysen uses ground wild rice.
We had to try it for ourselves.
The prep is incredibly easy: Pop the wild rice grains in oil just like popcorn, then pulverize in a food processor or blender until it's a fine powder. (We happen to have a small electric coffee/spice grinder that worked perfectly for this.) Then you prep the fish fillets just as you would with any other crust: Dredge in flour, dip in an egg wash, roll in the crust, and then fry in a pan.
The result is very good. The wild rice gives a great crunch and much more flavor than you'd get with, say, a panko crust.
One word of caution: We cooked the rice slightly too long in the oil, giving the final crust a slightly burnt taste. You should err on the shorter side in terms of how long you pop the rice in the oil.
In a way, this dish reminded us of that cool Tomato Salad with Tomato Water Granita that we made this summer: It's a simple dish with one single, simple twist. But the twist elevates it to something really impressive and "cheffy." If you made this Wild Rice-Crusted Fish for guests, they'd be super impressed. And all you did was pulverize some rice.
The best part? Wild rice takes -- what? -- 45 minutes to prepare on the stove? This dish, meanwhile, goes from zero to plated in about 10 minutes.
Quick cook time and a restaurant-quality entree? Sold.
Wild Rice-Crusted Fish
Bon Appétit (September 2015), recipe by Gavin Kaysen, Spoon and Stable, Minneapolis, MN
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(This photo: Bon Appétit/Lennart Weibull)
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
½ cup wild rice
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
4 5–6-ounce skinless halibut, hake, or cod fillets
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Lemon wedges (for serving)
DIRECTIONS
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add rice and cook, tossing occasionally, until grains have popped open like popcorn and are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and let cool. Pulse in a food processor or blender to a fine powder.
Preheat oven to 350°. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat eggs and 1 Tbsp. water in another shallow bowl. Place wild rice powder in a baking dish. Season fish with salt and pepper. Working with 1 fillet at a time, dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg mixture, turning to coat evenly. Coat with rice powder, pressing gently to adhere.
Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high. Cook fish until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast fish until just opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
Do Ahead: Wild rice powder can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
