Catfish Sandwich with Fried Okra

Open-Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwich

From Cooking Light

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 3/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp ground red pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

*4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets

2 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp honey

**2 cups packaged cabbage-carrot coleslaw

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 (1-ounce) slices sourdough bread, toasted

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of fish with paprika mixture. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add fish; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Combine yogurt, juice, & honey in a medium bowl. Add cabbage & cilantro; toss well to coat. Top each bread slice with about 1/2 cup slaw & 1 fillet. Top each fillet with remaining slaw.

Kim's Notes:

*We bought/cooked 2 (6-ounce) catfish fillets, instead of 4.

**I accidentally bought broccoli slaw & it was totally fine. Team Fiber!

Fried Okra

Adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cups peanut oil

2 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup milk

*2 cups cornmeal

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

**2 lb fresh okra, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

crushed red pepper flakes to taste

sea salt to taste

Directions:

The directions say to use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or a 3-quart enameled cast-iron casserole. We used our fry daddy (woot!).

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs & milk until they are well combined, about 1 minute. In a medium bowl, sift the cornmeal, flour, salt, & pepper together twice. Add the okra to the egg mixture & toss until it is evenly coated. Scatter half the dredge over the okra & toss to coat. Scatter the remaining dredge over the okra & toss again.

Transfer about 1/2 of the okra to the oil & fry in batches, turning as necessary, until the slices are golden brown all over, about 2 minutes per batch.

Transfer the okra to a plate-lined with a double thickness of paper towels. When it has drained, transfer to a ceramic serving dish that holds heat well & place in the oven until ready to serve.

Dust the okra with red pepper flakes & sea salt, if desired. Serve.

Kim's Notes:

*We added a little Panko & breadcrumbs to our cornmeal.

**We only used 1 lb of okra & it was still way to much for 2 people.

John & I both really liked this meal. The catfish was super flavorful & could stand alone, or over rice. And it wasn't hard to make. John has become quite the cast-iron-skillet master. The fried okra was good, but it wasn't as good as my grandmother's. I think we didn't fry it long enough. All of that being said, we'll definitely make this again, or some variation of it.

Viva la catfish!