I was recently invited to the set of NBC’s New Day Seattle for a cooking demo that promotes the pescatarian lifestyle.
Preparing food in front of live audiences has been keeping me very busy and I really enjoy it. Connecting to people in person is invigorating – the energy is insane!
In case you aren’t familiar with the process of live demos here is how they work – once I get booked on a show (you can see all of my recent TV appearances here) I work with the segment producer to iron out all of the details for the 3-8 minute appearance. This includes negotiating the recipe, discussing the time I will have on camera and whether I will be doing all the prep and set up or if this done by the house chef.
This time around I pitched sablefish and it was well received! As you can imagine, wild salmon is huge in the Pacific Northwest and a change of pace was welcomed.
Sablefish is also known as butterfish and black cod, although it is not a member of the cod family. The fishes high oil content is on par with salmon with light buttery flesh. Mainly harvested on the West Coast, Sablefish is caught in deep water from southern California to Alaska. According to Seafood Source, the larger the sablefish, the better the quality.
When you search for recipes made from this fish you will find the most famous one from Chef Nobu, which is a delicious, Asian-inspired dish that can easily be made at home.
My recipe is more California inspired and uses my mom’s apricot preserves as a sweet and tart glaze.
Ingredients
Serves two
Two 4-ounce fillets of skin-on sablefish (aka: black cod, butterfish)
2 generous tablespoons of apricot preserves
1 medium fresh peach cut into slices
Juice of ½ large orange (navel, cara cara or blood oranges are my favorites)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme ½ shallot, minced
1 tablespoons of ghee
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
Cast iron skillet
Directions
Pat the fish dry with paper towels, and season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the ghee. After 30 seconds add fish flesh side down. Sear until browned, about 2 minutes, then turn over and cook the other side. When the skin is crispy, transfer to a platter, cover and keep warm.
Return skillet to heat, add the butter, and cook until it begins to foam and turn golden. Add shallots, peaches, 2 thyme springs and sauté for 1 minute, then add orange juice and apricot preserves. Heat until preserves have melted. To serve, place the fish on individual platters, spoon apricot sauce over and garnish with remaining peaches and fresh thyme.
