This past weekend I was shopping at one of my usual haunts in Orlando when I spied fresh Florida red grouper fillets at the seafood counter. I loaded up on four beautiful fillets and went on my merry way. This evening I took the fillets out and decided I didn’t want to do the usual lemon, dill, and olive oil on the fillets so I fixed the following recipe and served it over cauliflower rice and served it with Michele Tam’s Oven-Roasted Tomatoes off her nomnompaleo.com site. Yum!
The meal was light but filling. It is also Whole30® compliant. The grouper just melted in my mouth and the almond/coconut flour mixture in which the fillets were dredged before searing gave them a slightly sweet, nutty taste. You do not have to use a lot of the sauce that accompanies the fish. It packs a nice flavor punch that compliments the grouper without being overwhelming.
Be mindful of the type of grouper you get. Many types of grouper in the U.S. are overfished. According to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, a non-profit that helps consumers make choices for healthy oceans, the best alternatives for grouper are red and black grouper from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Hawaiian grouper.
Enjoy!
Preparing the cauliflower rice
As far as the cauliflower rice, should you wish to have the grouper over “rice”, there are ton of recipes out on the web for it but my favorite is very simple. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets (preferably ones with a raised lip around the edges) with parchment paper. Cut up a head of cauliflower into small florets. Rinse well and then working in batches (depending on how big your food processor is) process the cauliflower until it resembles – well – rice. Spread the “rice” evenly onto the two baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you desire. Bake for ten minutes; give it a good stir and spread out again on the sheets and bake for another ten minutes. Voila! My husband was skeptical about cauliflower rice at first and now he much prefers it to regular rice. Working with raw cauliflower is messy work though! That is the only downside. It seems to go everywhere!
Pan-Seared Grouper with Asian Sauce
Pan Seared Grouper with Asian Sauce
Ingredients:
½ cup coconut aminos
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, diced
½ teaspoon dried ginger
¼ cup Paleo Hoisin Sauce, recipe follows
4 6 oz. to 8 oz. grouper fillets
½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder
¼ cup almond flour
¼ cup coconut flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons ghee
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
- Combine the coconut aminos, sesame oil, garlic, ½ of green onions, ginger, and Paleo Hoisin Sauce in a small saucepan, mix well, and bring to a gentle simmer and then keep warm.
- Combine the Chinese Five Spice powder, the almond flour, the coconut flour, and the salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and mix well.
- Dredge the fillets in the flour mixture.
- Heat the olive oil and ghee in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- When olive oil and ghee are hot, add the fillets and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fillets or until they are opaque in center.
- Serve the fillets immediately with the warm sauce on the side. Sprinkle the remaining green onions over each fillet.
Paleo Hoisin Sauce
Yield: 1/4 cup (approximately)
Ingredients:
¼ cup coconut aminos
1 tablespoon almond butter
3 to 4 dates, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Paleo-friendly – check your ingredients)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor and process until the mixture starts to emulsify.
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