Pan Seared Lemon Butter Grouper with Tomato Basil Cappello's Fettuccini & Sautéed Spinach
The idea behind this Pan Seared Grouper, Roasted Tomato & Basil Cappello's Fettuccini with Sautéed Spinach dinner was both pre-meditated and a little on the fly. One of my all-time favorite meals in life (really not sure why it sticks out so vividly) is from a work trip to Sarasota 3 or 4 years ago when I happened to eat dinner all alone at Owen's Fish Camp. My meal consisted of the most perfect blackened grouper, braised greens that were akin to a vinegary collard, and a side of garlic butter angel hair pasta. It might sound totally boring or even odd but the combination of the flakey spiced grouper, the tangy greens, and the silky buttery pasta was enough to make a girl cry. Plus I topped it off with key lime pie because WHEN IN ROME?! All this is to say, I hadn't planned on eating grouper with tonights dinner but when I landed at Wabash Seafood Company and saw that they had grouper I was suddenly hit with all the nostalgia for that meal (I did know I wanted to use up some leftover Cappello's angel hair and I had bought some little tomatoes and basil to whip up a light summer pasta side dish).
I ended up not making the grouper blackened as I was already planning to do that with the Halibut I also bought at Wabash Seafood, so instead the fish was all about the lemon & butter.
What I used:
- 1 grouper filet
- Two handfuls little tomatoes
- Bunch of basil leaves
- Leftover Cappello's Lasagna sheets which I cut into fettuccini before re-freezing after this recipe
- 1 bag of spinach (I had leftovers, 1/2 bag per person is about right)
- Grassfed Organic Butter & Grapeseed Oil
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
How to:
- After seasoning the grouper on both sides with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder, pan sear it in butter & oil until golden on each side over high heat. Finish it off at 350 in the oven for about 10 minutes at which point the grouper should be light and flakey and lovely.
- On the side, I roasted little tomatoes in grape seed oil and a pinch of salt in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until they were bursting and then I smashed them up with a fork. When the pasta was ready I tossed the fettuccini with the roasted tomatoes and topped it off with fresh basil.
- Lastly I sautéed spinach in oil and lemon until lightly wilted and served it all up for a super bright summery meal.
If you like this summery seafood dinner check out this one and this one for more inspiration!
