Passport & Plate - Milkfish roulade with corn grits and summer salad
Philippines | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
everything serves for 2 people
For Milkfish Marinade:
4 calamansi (calamondin citrus) pieces for Marinade
Dried Thyme
Dried Rosemary
Pepper
Salt
4 medium baby milkfish fillets (tails, fins and head removed)
For the Filling of the Milkfish Roulade:
5 Longganiza recado (filipino sausage) links (mashed)
1 medium sized yellow corn, (steamed, then hulled)
5-7 baby spinach leaves (chopped finely)
5-7 medium kangkong/morning glory leaves (chopped finely)
10 pieces pitted green olives (minced)
20 pieces button mushrooms (minced)
For the Spring Salad and Corn Grits
2 cups (quinoa sized) corn grits
2 cups of moringa leaves
1 medium sized Mirliton Pear (julienned)
1 medium sized Jicama (julienned)
1 medium sized Green Mango (julienned)
1 medium sized Fuji Apple (julienned)
Condiments/Spices used:
Cane Vinegar
Honey
Pineapple juice
Chili powder
Olive oil
Unsalted butter ( 5 tablespoons)
Toothpicks (for spearing and securing the roll)
How to prepare this recipeBangus ‘Milkfish’ Roulade
Season milkfish with thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper and the juice from the calamansi.
In a separate pan, sauté the garlic, onions, olives, corn and longganiza, kangkong and spinach till wilted, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Grease with butter an ovenproof dish, preheated at 350F.
Put in 2 tablespoons of mixture and roll up the milkfish and secure with a toothpick, Brush the fish generously with the adobo glaze then bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.
Garnish with chopped spring onions and more adobo glaze.
Adobo glaze/ oil for the fish:
Juice of 5 Calamansi pieces, 5 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of honey,10 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ teaspoon of thyme, rosemary, pepper and a dash of salt. – mix together and heat in pan for 3 minutes
Summer salad-
Immerse the Julienned Jicama, Mirliton pear, Apples and Green Mangoes along with the sliced tomatoes and onions in the Vinaigrette for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, arrange the vegetables and fruits properly under a bed of moringa leaves, sprinkle crushed peanuts on top, serve with more Pineapple vinaigrette on the side and season with pepper or salt to taste.
For the Pineapple vinaigrette:
Mix 1/8 cup of pineapple juice and 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 1/2 cup cane vinegar, 2 teaspoons of chili powder/flakes. Season to taste with pepper or salt
Corn grits
Cook corn grits over water (like how you cook normal rice) in a pot for 10-15 minutes, after this, put some at your plate, in your preference to accompany the fish.
there are two ways to plate this dish, you can either
a- do the usual with the salad and grits on the side
b- use the remaining Longganiza filling and mix it with the salad for a more heavy meal or for people who aren't too savvy with vegatables, the serve with more corn grits.
The story behind this recipeWe, Filipinos have always been associated with warm smiles and a joyful disposition. I’d like to present a dish that is a tribute to the first few years of travelling that paved the way to my present wanderlust. Despite my efforts to not make this essay promise too much, my dish easily happens to be a great representation of how I see our national cuisine. I’ve always had a penchant for great tasting dishes that can be easily prepared easily.
This filling usually wins over almost everyone, and the ingredients are hard not to love. This serves as a filling/topping, even great on its own. One of the main ingredients of this dish is Longganiza; it is a local sausage similar to Spain’s chorizo, only flavored with local and spices. Mixed with the universal button mushrooms, freshly hulled corn from the cob, healthy greens like spinach and morning glory, rounding up the lovely mixture is pitted green olives. I paired it with the national favorite, our very own Milkfish, which has a tender flaky texture plus an enviable light taste most expensive fish have. Rolled up and glazed with a simple soy-citrus-honey blend, this one now packs a punch, it doesn't even sound healthy but it is. To add to the health factor, I've utilized Filipino favorites such as corn grits and local vegetables for an unusual but delicious side and salad mix. What’s great about this recipe is that everything on the list can be substituted easily for other local items that you love. What does my dish, my heritage and my wanderlust have in common? It is the ability to forge wonderful connections through. When one first sees the list of ingredients, it does seem like it won’t work or won’t taste good but that’s the beauty of the unusual- when it works, it makes an indelible mark. Like the Filipino spirit, we may not be creating much buzz yet around most international networks but once you have experienced the culture and met the people, it is something you’d definitely remember fondly.
