Strawberry Sassafras Glazed Pickerel Over Fiddleheads And Hominy
10
- Prep Time20 mins
- Total Time55 mins
- Makes2 servings
(Produced by Chantal Bragranza, Radiyah Chowdhury and Sun Ngo; Photography, food and prop styling: Kirsten Buck; Illustrations: Lianne Marie Leda Charlie)
This pickerel recipe from chef Tawnya Brant—the owner of Yawékon, a takeout restaurant that serves Haudenosaunee fusion cuisine to the large community of Six Nations in southwestern Ontario—riffs on one of her favourite drinks: strawberry and sumac juice.
Glaze
3 cups brewed sassafras tea
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp maple vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
Pickerel
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1//3 cup hemp hearts
340 g fillets pickerel
1/4 tsp ramp powder, (optional)
1/4 tsp smoked salt
Fiddleheads and Hominy
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 cups canned hominy, drained and rinsed
1 cup fiddleheads, rinsed well
1/2 tsp smoked salt
Instructions
Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F.
Glaze: Combine tea and maple syrup in a medium saucepan set over medium-high. Boil until reduced by half, about 10 min. Add strawberries. Simmer until berries can be easily mashed, about 5 min more. Stir in vinegar. Set aside.
Pickerel: Combine seeds and hemp hearts in a mortar and pestle or blender. Crush, or blend, until very fine. Spread over a plate. Pat fish dry with paper towels. Coat each fillet with seed mixture. Transfer to a baking sheet. Sprinkle tops of fish with ramp powder and ¼ tsp smoked salt.
Bake until fish is cooked through, about 20 min.
Fiddleheads and Hominy: Meanwhile, boil a small saucepan of water over medium-high. Add fiddleheads. Boil for 10 min. Drain and rinse well.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high. Add oil, hominy and fiddleheads. Cook, stirring, until fiddleheads are tender, 5 min. Sprinkle with ½ tsp smoked salt.
Serve fish over fiddleheads and hominy. Drizzle with glaze. Top with strawberries, if desired.