Sweet n' Salty: Honey-Dijon Basa Swai Fish

The roads were icy with no outings in sight, so they had an indoor fish night! I wrote for Dr. Seuss, you didn't know? As poetic and amusing as that sounded, it is not far from the truth: there is truly no end in sight to the freezing rain saga in our area. A night in (paired with the fact that we have a baby) is not unheard of when the roads are so icy you'd basically be risking your life for an overpriced steak cut at a restaurant if you dared step out.

Something to address for the overly informed: yes, Basa Swai is mainly harvested in Vietnam (and other hot spots in Southeast Asia- it offers a great protein to price ratio in developing countries), where it is known as a river catfish, and yes, the entire catfish-from-the-Mekong-river may seem terrifying to some as it is a highly polluted area. However, you can also order yours from US states such as Alabama and Louisiana (they made a million-dollar industry out of these) or research on the importing company you buy from. For example, Canadian importer Bay Point Trading gives out all the information on the Vietnamese sellers they deal with and hide no health and farming details from the public. So don't be too hard on each species simply because you heard one bad story, there is always a safe way to enjoy produce! I mean not always. Not at all. But in this case yes!

Here's a fun fact or two about this recipe: not only did Rene hate it (irrelevant, I thought it was pretty tasty and different- I use mayonnaise about once a year so I was rather excited), I also dropped the tray as it came out of the oven because my rag wasn't thick enough and the sauce spilled absolutely everywhere. I swear the entire oven section of the kitchen smelled like Dijon well into the week following my cooking this, even after 4-5 Lysol wiping sessions. So, not to discourage you or anything because again, I thought it was tasty and a good idea altogether, but your partner might despise it and your cat might be licking the floor for much longer than you care to admit. Here we go.

Don't let the stormy day lighting fool you, it was a light and pleasant meal. I believe I paired it with a nice Israeli couscous, a spinach-garlic sautée and a bottle of Bourgogne aligoté. Last detail, I got the recipe from All Recipes (Canada)- I felt bad to mention it at first as Rene did not like it, but to be fair I did, so remember that not everyone will be pleased with what you make at all time, it doesn't however make it a bad dish! I highly recommend sites like these, where many personal recipes are shared- the more ideas the better.

You will need,

Honey (1/4 cup)

Mayonnaise (3 tbsp)

Olive oil (2 tbsp)

Basa Swai fish (I prepared 2 fillets)

Fresh lemon juice (1 tbsp but I used the entire lemon)

Dijon mustard (I like the old grainy style, 2 tbsp)

A few steps,

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. In a bowl, whisk together honey, mayonnaise, olive oil, mustard, and lemon juice.

3. Place each fish fillet on separate pieces of aluminum foil.

4. Drizzle honey sauce over each fish fillet.

5. Wrap the aluminum foil around each coated fish fillet, crimping the foil together over the top to seal into a packet.

6. Bake fillets in the preheated oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10-12 minutes.

7. Place one fish fillet on each serving plate and top with leftover sauce from foil packet.

8. Enjoy!