Cornmeal Catfish with Warm Potato Salad

This simple, hearty one-skillet meal honors N'awlins street food, meaty catfish coated with cornmeal and Cajun spices, fried until crisp in a little bacon grease with a warm potato salad cooked right in the same skillet. Tis sumptuous ...

Whole Food, Simply Prepared. A Vintage, Easy Tried-and-True Recipe. Mere Minutes to the Table. One (Skillet) & Done (In Half an Hour). Another Quick Supper, a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy. Perfect When Cooking for One or Two. Easy DIY. High Protein. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. What're you waiting for?! So Good!!

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Supper on the Table in 30 Minutes ... Without All the Pots and Pans and Calories.

Food TV icon Rachael Ray has a winning formula: 30-Minute Meals.

But when home cooks gripe about Rachael Ray, it’s because those very same quick meals load the body with calories and the sink with pots and pans. What’s the point of eating at home if you might as well hit the drive-through? What’s the point of cooking supper in 30 minutes if it takes another 30 to clean up?

Enter Quick Suppers, since 2005 a brand-new level of dinner-time speed and convenience.

Straight off, I set my standards high for official Quick Suppers, aiming for recipes "easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher".

This Quick Supper (might I add, this tasty supper?) is low in calories. It requires only one skillet and a spatula, a cutting board and a knife, plus a bowl for dredging.

Now that, home cooks, is truly a winning formula!

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QUICK SUPPER:
CORNMEAL CATFISH with WARM POTATO SALAD

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Serves 4

WARM POTATO SALAD
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon bacon fat
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (assumes Morton's)
• 1 pound (450g) new or Yukon gold potatoes, skins on, diced very small (see ALANNA’s TIPS)
• 1 small red onion, diced small
• 1/2 pound (225g) fresh or frozen okra, cut in small bites (optional but tasty)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 cup frozen peas or bottled capers (omit if using okra)
• Salt & pepper to taste

CORNMEAL CATFISH
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal (see TIPS)
• 2 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix (or use a commercial blend)
• 1 tablespoon bacon grease
• 1 pound (450g) catfish filets, in 4 pieces

MAKE THE POTATO SALAD Bring the water, bacon fat and salt to a boil over medium high in a cast iron or heat-tolerant skillet. Add the potatoes, onion, okra and garlic as prepped. Cook, stirring occasionally; add more water if needed so not to stick. When the potatoes are done and the water is cooked off, stir in the vinegar and peas until the peas are warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl, cover to keep warm.

COAT & FRY THE CATFISH While the potatoes cook, combine the cornmeal and spice mix in a flat bowl. Pat the fish filets dry with a paper towel, then dredge (see TIPS) the pieces in the cornmeal mixture, covering each piece completely. Set aside until ready to fry.

Once the Warm Potato Salad is put aside, wipe out the skillet a bit (this prevents bits of vegetables from burning), add the bacon fat and heat until shimmery on medium high. It's ready for the fish once a little water flicked off your fingers into the oil sizzles. With tongs, gently arrange the fish in the skillet, they too should sizzle. Cook through, about 5 minutes on one side, then flip and fry another 5 minutes on the other (the guideline is about ten minutes per inch of thickness).

TO SERVE Transfer the hot fish to dinner plates, with Warm Potato Salad on the side.

ALANNA's TIPS Be sure to use a skillet that's big enough to cook the fish without crowding. If that's not possible, fry the catfish in batches. The smaller the potato dice, the faster the potatoes cook. It’s easy knife work. Just slice a potato thin one direction. Then separate it into halves, cut sides down. Holding a half together, cut thin one direction, then the other. You’ve got it, a tiny dice! The red skins of new potatoes add nice color but the larger Yukon golds are handy. Stone-ground cornmeal works but makes for a more rustic crust. I prefer the finer yellow cornmeal that comes in small tubs. "Dredge" is kitchen code for coating a food like fish in a dry mixture like cornmeal or flour before cooking. Bacon grease adds flavor but if you’re watching saturated fats, substitute vegetable oil.

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CAJUN SPICE MIX With a well-stocked spice pantry, it’s easy and inexpensive to blend homemade spice mixes. I fill empty spice jars with my own blends, then just add them to the collection. For Cajun flavors, combine a tablespoon each of paprika, cumin and kosher salt with a teaspoon each of garlic powder, black pepper, thyme and oregano.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving (assumes 4 servings): 333 Calories; 13g Tot Fat; 4g Sat Fat; 58mg Cholesterol; 387mg Sodium; 32g Carb; 4g Fiber. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 7 & future WW points.

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Seasonal Cooking: Late-Summer & Early Fall Across the Years

KITCHEN PARADE
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A VEGGIE VENTURE
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If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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Fish: One Quick Supper After Another

more
~ fish recipes ~

• THE RECIPE Fish with Roasted Okra "Fries" & Tomato-Fennel Salad A Quick Supper, summer bounty on a plate.
• ANOTHER TAKE Salmon with Crispy Crust Moist, flaky fish topped with a golden bread crumb crust. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Easy-Easy Broiled Salmon with Olive Salad Just three ingredients, on the table in 20 minutes. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Roasted Salmon & Asparagus The original sheetpan supper. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Fish with Herb Butter A Quick Supper, one of my favorite simple meals.
• ANOTHER TAKE Herb-Coated Broiled Fish Fish filets coated in fresh herbs, then broiled. So simple, yet seductive.

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ fish recipes ~
~ cornmeal recipes ~
~ potato recipes ~
~ okra recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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