St. Lawrence Fried Fish

August 10: Feast Day of St. Lawrence

Having traveled to both sides of the coasts of North America, we try to take advantage of sampling the seafood there. Just last month, for business and pleasure, we were near the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans and ate fresh catch from the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada) and St. Lawrence Island (Alaska). So for the Feast Day of St. Lawrence, we fried some fish. Although the recipe calls for any type of fillet, we used halibut, which is a popular fish in both areas. St. Lawrence is also one of the patron saints of Canada, Highlander’s birth country, and of chefs! In honor of the martyr who died for the faith by being burned by a gridiron, have some fried fish on his feast day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking With the Saints by Ernst Scheugraf)

Ingredients

• 2 small onions
• 2 small potatoes
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ tablespoon rosemary, crushed and dried
• ½ tablespoon dill, fresh
• 2 fish fillets (we used halibut)
• bacon strips (3-4 strips per person)
• butter
• ¼ cup cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

Cut off the stem and root of each onion but do not peel.  Wash the potatoes and prick with a fork but also do not peel. Wrap each vegetable in heavy foil and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for about 30-45 minutes, or until they are softened. Keep warm on the side.

On a lipped plate, mix the flour with the rosemary and dill. Dredge the fish fillets in this mixture. Fry the bacon in a pan and remove when cooked and crisped. Drain on paper towels. In the same pan, fry the fish in the bacon drippings for about 2-3 minutes or until browned and covered in some bacon bits. Be careful not to overcook the fish. Transfer the fish fillets to a plate and serve with the baked onion and potatoes. Add butter and cheese to the potatoes if desired.

Notes

• According to the cookbook author, the name of this recipe comes from the fish that were caught in the St. Lawrence River in Canada and fried on the banks in lots of bacon drippings. It is an outdoor recipe to be cooked over a campfire but has been adapted for the indoor kitchen.
• Thanks to Lisa L. for the fish platter from Germany.