Southwest Snapper

I felt like something lighter than chicken and a nice piece of snapper caught my eye. Vegetables are still at winter prices so I used frozen peas and fresh carrots.  Ordinary mashed potatoes with salt, butter and milk fill out the plate.  I pulled out the bones running from center head end half way to tail.  The tail is the narrow, thin end of the filet.

I seasoned the fish with salt then sprinkled it with 

Southwest Spice Rub

2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp granulated garlic
4 tsp kosher salt (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp cayenne

To prevent scorching of the spice rub I put some flour in a small sieve and lightly floured both sides of the filet.  I laid the pieces in plenty of hot oil. It takes only 2 or 3 minutes per side to cook the fish so stay on top of it.  While the fish was cooking I mixed up a little tartar sauce from a tablespoon of mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons of sweet green relish. I plated the tartar sauce directly on the fish, which turned out to be a bad idea.

The vegetables were done in the microwave with a little water, salt and extra virgin olive oil so they had more flavor.  I think I got enough salt on the meat this time and the potatoes were perfect. The only mistake on the plate was the tartar sauce.  It didn't enhance the spice rub.  It didn't taste bad, it tasted incongruous. The mayonnaise coats the inside of the mouth preventing the subtle flavors of the spice rub from getting through to the palette. A few drops of lemon juice on the fish would have been far better.