Let's Rock(fish) and Roll!

When it comes to eating, sometimes one craving leads to another. Lately I’ve developed a serious hankering for grapefruit, which I have not really cared for in the past. I attribute this to the "7-year-itch" our taste buds seem to go through, changing our food likes and dislikes, sometimes dramatically.

My affection for grapefruit actually started about a year ago, when I had a crabmeat, avocado and grapefruit salad at a restaurant. It was extremely gratifying on a lot of different levels. The sweetness of crab combined nicely with the tart juiciness of the grapefruit and the creamy smoothness of the avocado. Yum! I decided I had to bring some variation of this deliciousness to my home table.

I originally thought I would use halibut, but I ended up with rockfish. Rockfish is actually striped bass and, I  discovered, the official fish of the state of Maryland. Who knew? Since I live in the DC Metro area, it’s local to me and was on special at my fish market.

I brushed two generous pieces of rockfish with melted butter, minced garlic, salt, and pepper, and baked at 375 for 30 minutes. I poured some white wine around (not on top of) the fish to keep it moist.

While that was baking, I peeled two grapefruits and removed the pith. This gets very juicy, so I recommend you do this over a bowl to catch all the juices. I combined the juicy, meaty grapefruit pieces with two peeled, cubed avocados. I drizzled that with a dressing of 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, ½ tsp of raw sugar and some salt. 

The finished product: flavorful and flakey rockfish topped with a scoop of grapefruit avocado salad that boasts omega-3's and antioxidants all in one tasty dish.

And it didn’t end there! Two days later, I was feeling somewhat obligated to eat the leftover rockfish, when inspiration landed right in my lap. I love when that happens.

I had recently acquired a new Facebook friend named Dave. He's married to a college friend of mine, Pam. Dave is a total "food person" and he posts a lot about what he’s cooking. He posted a picture of some salmon BLT’s he made. Just thinking of the picture he posted was enough to get my mouth watering.  And that led me to two thoughts: First, why doesn't Dave have a food blog? And second…why not a rockfish BLT?

 

I used turkey bacon, since that was what I had in my fridge at the time, but whatever. The point is, a lightly toasted Kaiser roll, topped with warm rockfish, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo WORKS! Thanks Dave!