Spicy Catfish Fillets in Banana Leaves

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

2 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 4 servings

Nutritional Info
Per serving: about	-
cal	311311 cal
pro	33 g33g pro
total fat	16 g16g total fat
sat. fat	2 g2g sat. fat
carb	10 g10g carb
fibre	2 g2g fibre
chol	78 mg78mg chol
sodium	381 mg381mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	33 calcium
iron	99 iron
vit A	3030 vit A
vit C	5858 vit C
folate	1313 folate

Grilling fish in banana leaves keeps in all the juices and adds a distinctive smoky taste, complemented here with an aromatic spice paste. Banana leaves are sold frozen at most Southeast Asian and Latin American grocery stores. Heating the leaves before wrapping makes them stronger and more flexible. You also can wrap the fish in foil, but it will not have a smoky flavour.

Ingredients

1 tbsp hot pepper flakes 1 1tbsp tbsphot pepper flakes
1 lemongrass stalk 1 1lemongrass stalk
1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews 1/2 1/2cup cupunsalted roasted cashewunsalted roasted cashews
1 1roasted sweet red pepperroasted sweet red peppers, peeled and seeded
1/2 onion , coarsely chopped1/2 1/2oniononions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic 4 4cloves garlic
2 tbsp lime juice 2 2tbsp tbsplime juice or lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 1tbsp tbspvegetable oil
2 tsp chopped gingerroot 2 2tsp tspchopped gingerroot
2 tsp fish sauce 2 2tsp tspfish sauce
1 pkg (14 oz/397 g) banana leaves 1 1pkg (14 oz/397 g) pkg (14 oz/397 g)banana leaves
4 4catfish filletcatfish fillets, about 6 oz (175 g) each
Lime wedges Lime wedges

Preparation

In small skillet, toast hot pepper flakes over medium heat until slightly darkened and fragrant, about 1 minute; set aside.

Remove tough outer layer of lemongrass. Trim off and discard green and dried tops; finely chop remaining stalk.

In food processor, pulse together toasted hot pepper flakes, lemongrass, cashews, red pepper, onion, garlic, lime juice, oil, ginger and fish sauce until fine paste. Set aside.

Rinse and wipe banana leaves. Cut into 4 pieces, about 14 x 10 inches (35 x 25 cm) each. Place on greased grill over medium-high heat; cook until shiny and darkened slightly, about 30 seconds per side.

Trim off thick brown vein of each. Pull 4 strands from remaining leaves for ties. Divide spice paste into quarters. Spread half of one quarter on dull side of leaf; cover with fillet and top with remaining half of paste. Fold leaf to make neat packet. (If leaf breaks, cover with piece of leaf.) Tie securely with strand. Repeat with remaining leaves. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 hours.)

Place packets on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and cook, turning once, until lightly charred, 14 to 16 minutes. To serve, cut “X” with scissors from opposite corners of each packet to open. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over top.

Additional information : Also try: tilapia, perch, snapper, pollack or Spanish mackerel

Source : Canadian Living Magazine, June 2002