Armchair Chopped - Easy Pleasy Plate

I'll save you from reading about what Armchair Chopped is and get right to the good stuff. If you don't know what Armchair Chopped is, go back and read my old posts (I'm sure you did that already or are planning to, so this shouldn't be much of an issue)!

On the most recent episode of Food Network's TV show Chopped I was challenged to create a dish in the entree round. My sister, to whom I dedicate this post, thought she was deciding the number of "slushies" for me to drink on a Friday night when in fact she was picking which basket of ingredients would be my judge. 

The ingredients that were in the basket were some of the most unique ingredients paired together that I've seen on Chopped:

Lake Perch: These fish typically range in weight from 0.5lbs. to 3lbs. One of the most popular "pan fish,"  Lake Perch possess firm yet flakey white meat and a delicate, sweet flavor that anglers prize.

Lake Perch

Food Techniques to Know

Avacado: The fruit of a tree and also referred to as an "Alligator Pear." This fruit has a large single seed in the meddle and has a soft creamy texture when ripe.

Avacado

Tomato-on-the-Vine: One website describes this "varietal" as, "Tomatoes so bright and fresh, they’re still plugged in." Whenever I see them in the grocery store, they are typically the best looking red tomatoes, particularly when tomatoes are not in season. They typically are a moderate/medium size and remarkably uniform in size. The flesh is nice and juicy and tender though often more expensive.

Tomatoes on the Vine

Rolled Oats: Oat groats that have been modified/flattened by heavy rollers and possibly steam treated or lightly toasted.

 

So what does a guy make with these four simple ingredients? The dish drawn below was the most forthcoming of the dishes I have come up with...

Working in a couple different casual dining restaurants, I have seen my share of Fish and Chips. Naturally, I decided that I would give the rolled oats a quick re-toast and then combine with a small amount of cornmeal and blend/grind until a fine breading. This mixture would be used to coat the filetted fish, which would then be fried to give the fish filets a thorough crisp.

With fried fish, one needs fries. I "plated" my Friday fish fry over a mixture of baked sweet potato and white potato fries. Not only that, I would pair the fish with an Avacado "tartar sauce" and a Tomato-on-the-Vine Ketchup. I haven't made my own ketchip or tartar sauce before, but I'm sure I could come up with something.

Armchair Chopped Entree Course: Lake Perch, Avacado, Tomatoes-on-the-Vine, and Rolled Oats

As with all of my Armchair Chopped challenges I paused the episode to concoct my own version of a dish from the basket ingredients. When I resumed the episode, I saw three preparations of Lake Perch, none of which included a fried preparation. After some consideration, frying the Lake Perch in this way would not be particularly wise. The Lake Perch provided were on the smaller end with very small filets. If I were lucky, I might get an appetizer portion of fish for 1 or 2 people, but not entree size portions. Perhaps my plan was not thought out so well. What might work better would be to clean the perch, crust it, and fry it whole. It would provide a better presentation though eating the dish would be particularly difficult. Fortunately, I don't have to face the "chopping block" and will survive to create another dish!