Island Fish Fry with Sweet Corn Grits

I love this dish because it combines some of my favorite things about Bahamian food: crispy fish, creamy grits and a festive feel. You can cook this up as a big, family-style meal, or pare it down for a great date night meal for two.

TECHNIQUE TIP: Test your oil temperature with a small piece first, making sure it doesn't burn too quickly. It should sizzle and turn to a nice golden brown after a few minutes.

SWAP OPTION: You can swap out snapper for your preferred white fish.

INGREDIENTS

Fish fry

  • 1 pint buttermilk

  • 1 egg

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 1/3 cup seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 8 ounces cleaned red snapper, cut into strips

  • 5 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

  • 1 cup canola oil, for frying

Dredge

  • 1/3 cup spelt flour

  • 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

  • 1/3 cup cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

  • 1 teaspoon granulated onion

  • 1 teaspoon berbere

Sweet corn grits

  • 4 cups vegetable broth

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, plus more to taste

  • 6 ounces uncooked grits

  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

  • 1 cup creamed corn

  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 1/3 cup diced scallions

To serve

  • diced scallions

  • chopped fresh parsley

  • lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE FISH FRY

To make the marinade, in a small mixing bowl, place the buttermilk, egg, lemon zest, seafood seasoning, salt and pepper; mix to combine. Next, place the fish and shrimp in the marinade and let marinate for 1 to 2 minutes.

FOR THE DREDGE

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix evenly.

TO FRY

  1. In a medium frying pan, place the canola oil in a pan on medium heat.

  2. Place the fish and shrimp in the dredge, coating all the pieces evenly on both sides.

  3. Once oil is hot, place the dredged fish and shrimp in the pan. Cook evenly, until golden brown, approximately 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove fish and shrimp from the pan. Place fried fish and shrimp on a resting rack.

FOR THE SWEET CORN GRITS

  1. In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, place vegetable broth and butter into the pot. Bring mixture to a boil.

  2. Slowly pour the grits into the pot while stirring with a whisk. Continue to stir every 2 to 3 minutes to maintain a smooth consistency. Continue cooking grits on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, creamed corn, heavy cream, additional butter, salt and pepper.

  3. Remove the pot from the heat and garnish with diced scallions.

TO SERVE

On a large serving plate, place creamy grits toward the center of the plate. Next, top plate with fried fish and shrimp. Garnish with diced scallions, fresh parsley and lemon.

SeafoodMarcus Samuelssontoday show, fish, family-style meal