Blackened Mahi-Mahi

I think the first time I’d ever had blackened fish was at Big Daddy’s Crab Shack on Elgin Street near downtown Ottawa, Ontario. I’d never had much in the way of Cajun food prior to this, but man, the flavour! Since then I’ve tried blackened fish at numerous restaurants all over North America, but more often than not, I was disappointed. It seems that many places kinda don’t understand that a “blackened” fish should be… Well… Blackend! More than a couple of times I’ve seen a nice fillet of fish pan fried and then sprinkled with Cajun seasoning. I mean, they tasted alright, but they lacked the depth and texture of a nicely charred seasoning crust.

I’ve been experimenting with ways of cooking fish fillets lately, so I added this one to the mix. This particular iteration is made with Mahi-mahi, and while it was good, I had much better luck with haddock of the same thickness. I find that Mahi-mahi just takes a bit longer to cook - a couple of minutes which makes all the difference between a crisp and flavourful crust and charcoal on the outside.

Served on a rice pilaf alongside roasted fennel and sweet potatoes and a pineapple salsa.

It all tasted quite good, if not the best I’d ever had, but I really need to level up my plating and presentation skills.