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I hope everyone who participated in last weekend’s fishing opener had an enjoyable experience. Admittedly, I am not much of a fisherman. However, I did catch a really nice walleye. I pulled it out of the freezer section at Zup’s and threw it in the air. So technically, I can say I caught it.
This week’s recipe is a riff on “Marry Me Chicken.” If you have never heard of that recipe, it was developed in 2016 by Delish.com, but it became internet famous during the pandemic. The dish is composed of seared chicken breasts in a creamy sauce with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and spices.
Some people make a salmon version, but I thought it would be even better with walleye. I chose to serve it over wild rice, but pasta, mashed potatoes, or cauliflower rice would be good too. Add a simple side salad and some garlic bread for a complete meal.
One of my family members is trying to avoid gluten, so I dredged the fish in rice flour and thickened the sauce with cream cheese instead of using wheat flour. I also used sun dried tomato pesto instead of adding julienned sun dried tomatoes. I think the pesto blends nicely into the sauce.
MARRY ME WALLEYE Ingredients:
8-12 ounces walleye fillets Smoked paprika, salt, and pepper for seasoning (or your favorite seafood seasoning) Rice flour for coating 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 cloves minced garlic 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 1/2 tablespoons sun dried tomato pesto 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional) 2 ounces softened cream cheese 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (plus extra for garnishing, if desired) Salt, if needed, and black pepper to taste 1-2 generous pinches of crushed red pepper flakes Fresh basil for garnishing Cooked wild rice for serving
Instructions:
Lightly season the walleye with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Coat on all sides with rice flour (or regular flour). Place a medium sized skillet over medium high heat with the oil. Once hot, fry the walleye until lightly browned on both sides. Remove to a plate and set aside. To the skillet, add the butter and turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth and cream. Add the pesto, lemon juice and zest (if using). Bring the mixture to a strong simmer. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the cream cheese and Parmesan until melted and thickened. Season with salt (if needed), pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Add the walleye back into the pan and cook until it flakes easily with a fork and is heated through. Garnish with basil and another pinch of red pepper flakes and some Parmesan (if desired). Serve over wild rice. Yield: 2 servings
Notes:
The cream cheese will seem chunky for the first few minutes after adding it. Keep whisking and it will melt completely into the sauce. I made this recipe with Filippo Berio sun dried tomato pesto. This pesto does not have any added sugars unlike the other brands I looked at. It does contain cashews, so keep that in mind if you are concerned about allergens. If you choose a different brand, some pestos are thicker so you may want to scale back to just 1 tablespoon.
