Our refrigerator is in a dire state these days. The prime problem seems to be that we have been away from home every weekend since we returned from the States. Which means that I’ve been trying to squeeze these French Fridays with Dorie recipes in during the work week and have been awfully grateful that the line up so far has been for quick dishes.
This week’s recipe was actually for Spice-Crusted Tuna. As you can see from the title, I went a little off course and selected a nice monkfish fillet instead. Otherwise, I stuck strictly to the recipe, even following Dorie’s advice to serve it with mashed potatoes and Mango Chatini.
The only problem I had with this one was that the spice crust stuck to the pan instead of to the fish and I had to scrape it out after the fact in order to get the flavor on my fish. I thought that maybe it was because I didn’t use a spatula to turn the fish. Diane pointed out that it may be because I oiled the fish before adding the spice rub. Either way, I think that I still got the flavor, it just didn’t look quite as photogenic as it might have.
In fact, the flavor was delicious and I particularly enjoyed the combination with the mango chatini. I will absolutely be making the mango again, I have the feeling that this delicious salsa would pair nicely with most white meats.
What can I say, while I’m sorry to see that some Doristas are suffering, I’m absolutely thrilled that we are finally getting around to these fish recipes. I’m one who will usually stear towards the fish dishes over the meat dishes in a restaurants. Not always, sometimes a good steak is all that will satisfy. But my general preferences seem to be holding because so far I note that I have rated the recipes in Dorie’s fish chapter far higher than those from the meat chapter. Keep em coming!
one expat's life 
Not suffering, just sick of cooking fish! But at least I am learning something!
Oh man, that looks delicious! Then again, I think anything served next to mashed potatoes looks delicious. One of these days, I’ll get around to it. Oy.
What a gorgeous plate of food! I know I’d love the mangoes, too.
Your dish looks wonderful. Anything with Mango has to be good!!!
I loved this one too! And it was a big hit with my hubby, who loves seafood! Your dinner plate looks luscious! I need to try the mango chatini next time! Happy Friday, Rose!
I love monkfish – I’ll bet this was delicious. Nice meal, too.
Your fish looks good even if you scraped the crust onto it! I have only cooked monkfish once and I didn’t like it. I think I didn’t get a good piece. Getting good seafood is pretty iffy when you are landlocked like we are here in Oklahoma. I say well done!
Glad you enjoyed this Rosa. I used ocean trout and enjoyed it too. The mango chatini was lovely, a nice surprise. I know what you mean about feeling rushed – I have been travelling a bit and feel the same way.
Your dish is pretty lovely to me… no mangos in my green grocery, but I will take your recommendation and make it another time.
I felt the chatini was a good accompaniment to the spices and the fish. Delicious lunch!
I think your monkfish looks quite photogenic! And delicious!
Looks great! That’s good to hear about the chatini. I had a mango and was peeling it to make said chatini and realized my mango was not very good so I dumped the whole thing. Glad you enjoyed it all!
I am in the suffering category but luckily my taste testers (and who is left of them….:) all adore fish so it has been an utter delight for them. Interesting about the oiling of the fish first and possibly sticking. I will have to watch that in the future. Also, I can totally relate to the state of the fridge. We laughed as we looked in the other day and found two random creme brûlée, caviar, and breton fish soup amongst other items. But I declared that there was nothing for me to actually eat !!
Fish is my favorite in restaurants too, and I’m really loving trying different ways for cooking it at home. I usually stick to a couple of fish recipes that I’m familiar with. I’m glad to know this worked with monkfish.
I am sorry I didn’t try the mango salsa, yours looks so delicious as does your fish.
I wish I’d noticed Dorie’s suggestion about mashed potatoes. I love an excuse to make them. Funny that I seldom eat them with fish though. I’m happy about all the fish too. The most time-consuming part of most fish dishes is shopping for the fish, but I don’t mind that at all. I’ve repeated many of the fish dishes. The seared scallops and trout amandine are the first to come to mind (without actually looking at the book). There are still some good ones left to come! Happy weekend!
That is a wonderful plate-up – love that mango chatini, won’t mind some of that mash!
Hopefully you are traveling for fun and not work. Your fish dinner looks delicious and I am glad that you are enjoying all the fish recipes.
As I recall, weren’t the directions to rub some olive oil on the fish and then when you added the spices on both sides? The olive oil sorta worked like a glue. Anyway, I pressed the crushed seeds into the fish and it seemed to work fine for me. Really, though, as long as it tasted delicious, it was a Win.
I usually pair mango salsa with white fish, so I bet the chatini was really good with the monkfish! Yum.