Strawberry Chipotle Chutney over Pan Seared King Whiting
Posted by Rebecca Lichtenfels on Sep 30, 2016
You might be thinking to yourself – strawberry sauce on fish? What are you crazy?! I promise you, the combination of the sweet berries with the smoky peppers leads to an amazingly versatile strawberry chipotle chutney that plays so well with the delicate white fish. I had never tried whiting before, but it’s insanely delicious and very easy to prepare. It was extra special because it was freshly caught just days prior off our coastal shores of New Hampshire. I’m a big proponent of eat local! Support your local fisherman and you’ll be rewarded with extra tasty dishes.
This savory chutney would be equally delicious paired with a cheese plate, atop pork, or spread on a cracker. Strawberries are not just for dessert or jam! With this recipe, they have absolutely earned their spot at the dinner table.
Strawberry Chipotle Chutney
Adapted from California Strawberries
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, quartered
- ½ chipotle pepper in adobo, seeded and finely chopped
- ½ cup port wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I used peach white balsamic – delicious!)
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions:
Heat grapeseed oil over medium heat. Sauté the shallots, strawberries and chipotle until softened. Add in the port and reduce until almost dry. Add water, balsamic and lemon juice and cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes.
Pan Seared King Whiting
Ingredients:
- 4 6 oz. king whiting (or hake) fillets, skin on and boned
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Directions:
Season the fish fillets on both sides with freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the seasoned fillets, skin side down. Cook for a couple of minutes until the skin is just beginning to crisp. Scatter the pieces of butter around the pan and cook for another couple of minutes until the skin is crisp.
Turn the whiting fillets over and cook for another 3 minutes until cooked through. The time will vary based on thickness of your fish; mine were about 1” thick and 3 minutes was plenty.