Rania's Recipes: Sautéed Flounder & Summer Berry Cobbler

Summer is winding down, but it's not too late to discover your new favorite summer recipe! Be sure to try out these two from Rania Harris today!

Sautéed Flounder with Local Tomato and Corn Salsa

• 4 medium farm ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 small Vidalia onion ~ diced
• Corn kernels cut from 2 ears of fresh, cooked corn
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1⁄4 cup good-quality olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Local honey
 to taste
• Cumin
 to taste
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the fish:


• 6 flounder fillets (about 6 ounces each), skinned
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

To prepare the salsa, make the tomatoes easy to peel by submerging them in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then removing and submerging in cold water. This will help the skin peel off; all you need to do is pull it off with your fingers or with the assistance of a paring knife. Gently combine the tomatoes and the remaining salsa ingredients in a medium bowl, folding with a wooden spoon to prevent breaking the avocados; season carefully to taste. Refrigerate and store for up to 6 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Prepare the fish just minutes before serving. Rinse the fillets and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and oil. Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the fish in a single layer in the pan. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, flipping only once. When the fish is golden brown and just opaque in the center, serve immediately with a generous serving of room temperature salsa; drizzle with olive oil and garnish with basil. Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

Summer Berry Cobbler

For the Pastry:

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup yellow plain cornmeal
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 8 tablespoons very cold butter; cut into ¼-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons frozen shortening; cut into ¼-cubes
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice cold water

For the Filling:

• 1 quart blackberries
• 1 quart blueberries
• 4 peaches, peeled and cut into coarse chunks
• ½ cup local honey
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Zest of one lemon
• 4 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. To make pastry, pulse the flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar together two or three times in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade. Add the cold butter and shortening and pulse another eight or ten times, or until mixture is coarse and looks like small peas.

Drizzle cold water through the mouth of the processor while pulsing until the pastry just starts holding together. Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 2-inch thick disk. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together the berries, peaches, honey, cornstarch and lemon zest until evenly coated. Once the pastry has rested, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and drape it over a 10" deep dish pie pan and let some excess pastry hang over the edges.

4. Press the pasty in the pan and pour in the filling. Top fruit evenly with pats of butter.

5. Fold excess pastry back over the fruit, tearing off any large pieces to top the fruit in the middle of the pan, but still allowing some of the fruit to be exposed, for a rustic look. Bake in the center of the oven until bubbling and golden brown, about 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves: 8