Recipe: Grain-Free Pan Fried Coconut Flounder

Here on Long Island we can get fresh, wild flounder year round. In my low fat days, I would simply lay it on a cookie sheet, season it and bake it dry. And that’s exactly how it tasted. Dry. Now that I know better, when I bake it I use considerable amounts of butter or ghee and it is much better. But the most flavorful way to cook it, is to dip it in egg, coat it with coconut flour, fry in a pan with a good fat and make a delicious sauce for it. Even kids who do not like fish will eat it this way!

Did you know that flounder are born with an eye on each side of it’s head? In a spectacular transformation, one eye migrates to the other side, making this a fish with two eyes on one side of it’s head. Mother Nature in her wisdom gave these fish a greater ability to see predators as well as prey. Their flat bodies allow them to burrow into the ocean bottom to conceal themselves while they wait for prey. Having two eyes on top is to their advantage, albeit somewhat startling to humans.

Pan Fried Coconut Flounder

Ingredients

• One pound of local, wild fillet of flounder (or any other white fish fillet)
• 1 egg (pastured if possible)
• 3/4 cup coconut flour (where to buy coconut flour)
• Sea salt (where to buy sea salt and other spices)
• Pepper to taste
• Garlic powder
• fat (tallow, lard, ghee, butter) (how to make ghee)

Equipment

• 1 wide, low bowl
• 1 flat plate
• Platter
• Large fry pan and spatula

Instructions for the fish

1. Rinse the fish fillets under running water and pat dry
2. Crack the egg into the bowl and scramble
3. Pour some of the coconut flour onto the plate and spread
4. Dip one fillet at a time into the egg and cover completely, turn and cover the other side
5. Let the egg drip off
6. Place the egg covered fillet into the coconut flour
7. Season with your spices; salt, pepper and garlic
8. Press lightly and flip and coat the other side with coconut flour completely
9. Remove this finished piece to a plate
10. Prepare all the fish fillets this way
11. Start heating the pan to medium while you are preparing the fish
12. Melt a good fat in the pan: either tallow, lard, butter, ghee (I like tallow for this)
13. Place the fish in the pan and cook 3 – 4 minutes until the bottom side is browned (be careful not to heat the pan too much or it will just burn the flour)
14. Flip the fillet and cook until the other side is browned
15. Plate and prepare the sauce

Instructions for the Sauce

1. After the fish fillets are all cooked, quickly wipe out the pan with a paper towel
2. Put ghee or butter in the pan and melt
3. Add seasonings such as garlic and salt and fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, dill or whatever you have on hand
4. Saute until the fresh herbs are wilted
5. Pour some sauce over each fish fillet

 Variations

• You could use almond flour for this but I find that a little heavy
• If you love the taste of coconut, you could use shredded coconut, being careful not to burn it in the pan
• Use any other white fish
• Add white wine to the sauce

This post is shared at: Sugar-Free Sunday, My Meatless Monday, Real Food 101, Barnyard Hop, Monday Mania, Melt in Mouth Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Meatless Monday, Make Ahead Monday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Hearth & Soul Hop, Tasty Tuesday Naptime, Tasty Tuesday Tidbits, Tasty Tuesday 33, Traditional Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Healthy 2Day, Allergy-Free Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Mommy Club, Creative Juice Thursday, Thriving on Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Freaky Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday

Tagged as: coconut flour, fish, flounder, Paleo/Primal