Miso Yuzu Glazed Flounder with Rhubarb Salsa

Miso Yuzu Glazed Flounder with Rhubarb Salsa

June 8, 2018

Servings: 3-4

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 20 min

Total: 25 min

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A delightful summer fish dish, with an incredibly flavorful glaze and succulent rhubarb salsa.

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• Glaze:
• 2 TBSP yuzu juice
• 1 TBSP miso
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1/4 tsp ground or fresh grated ginger
• 4 6 oz flounder filets
• Salsa:
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 a sweet onion, diced
• 1 cup diced rhubarb
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato
• 1 tsp red chili paste
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk the glaze ingredients together.
• Step 2 Start your salsa. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until they become translucent. Stir in the rhubarb and cook, stirring frequently. until it begins to soften.
• Step 3 Add the rest of your salsa ingredients and bring to a boil. Then reduce to low heat and simmer while you cook the fish. If you want to smooth out the texture, you can always puree it afterwards, but it will boil down. Season with salt and pepper before serving.
• Step 4 Season fillets with salt and pepper and place on a greased baking sheet. Baste one side of the fish with the mixture and put in the oven for 6 minutes.
• Step 5 Remove fish from the oven, turn your broiler on high, and flip the fish. Baste the other side of the fish and broil for 3-4 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork and the glaze starts to caramelize.
• Step 6 Serve, topped with the salsa and a side green salad.

I’m pretty much excited about any recipe I post to the blog (hence why we share them in the first place!) but this is one that I’ve been dying to get up on the blog all week.  One of our AWNW “test kitchen” specialities, it’s inspiration came purely from our recent trip to the farmers market.  We try to get there as often as we can on the weekends and we’re definitely taking advantage now before baby comes (and before it gets too hot) to shop and source as many local seasonal ingredients as possible.

After my strawberry kick, I was determined to focus on another seasonal plant – rhubarb!  Strawberry rhubarb recipes have been popping up everywhere, but I can’t imagine many of your minds jump to making a salsa with rhubarb, nevermind then pairing that salsa with fish.  But, I love thinking outside the box and when I have a vision, I try to stick to it.  More often than not, it does pay off 🙂

So we went into our market excursion with the intent of buying rhubarb but not really sure how that was going to play into our weekend menu.  But before I even got to the vegetable tent, we stopped off at our favorite fishmonger – shoutout to Pura-Vida Fisheries! – because they always sell out early.  No farmer’s market visit is complete without picking up something fishy and we usually follow the lead on whatever our guy recommends (unless I’m seriously craving their scallops and then we just buy those).  On today’s visit he talked us into purchasing these beautiful filets of fresh flounder, a fish we rarely cook with, but somehow he twisted our arm.  I will note here that this recipe could easily be made with a similar white fish, cod or haddock are solid bets.

This delicate white fish leans mild to slightly sweet in flavor.  Due to it’s flaky texture, it is a great fish to bake, stuff or poach.  I really wanted to elevate the flavor of the fish and make it memorable, but keep it light, so I opted for glazing it rather than coming up with some sort of crust.  I’ve been cooking a decent amount with yuzu lately so I felt compelled to use it, but I knew I needed to pair with something a little more savory to give this fish the punch of flavor I wanted.  In my opinion, the umami essence of brown miso brings a great balance to the distinct sourness of the yuzu.  The honey I added just for a touch of sweetness, but it also ended up harmonizing so well with the rhubarb salsa in the end, so I’ll give myself a big pat on the back for this flavor combination!

So why rhubarb salsa?  I guess I went out on a whim, but I guess my reasoning was two-fold.  One, I realized it would add some much-needed color to the plate. The fish is yummy but the glaze is brown, it’s going to win me any food photography awards on its own!  Two, I wanted something tart and flavorful to add dimension, but not weight, to the plate. A salsa just seemed like it would pair best with our mild choice of fish and since I had the rhubarb at my finger tips I just had to run with it!

If you couldn’t tell already, I am super psyched about this recipe and I’ve already received some great feedback from my “groupies.”  My Dad made it for my Mom on Wednesday (he paired his with rice pilaf and zucchini chips – go Dad!) and I got rave reviews!  I know, I know, he’s family – but he really would give me constructive feedback, I swear!  So the next time you’re in the mood to try out a fun new fish recipe, one with a fun summer twist, this is right up your alley!