Chef Cunningham's Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze
It’s windy today and without turning my head, I feel the gritty top layer of sand flying, the ocean waves struggling to catch a steady rhythm and coconut trees that I’m sure are exhausted from being swayed back and forth with the changing winds.
The other day, when the shipment of fish didn’t make it to the island, the chefs went fishing and caught two 45 pound wahoo and one 80 pound mahi-mahi – which went on to feed 80 of us at dinner. Another morning, Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard went fishing, caught a massive wahoo fish, but before she could reel it in, a shark snuck in, chomped down and yanked it away. Stephanie landed a torn head to deck. No wahoo for dinner tonight! Today, I heard that the chefs will be catching lobsters to feed our group.
Now that’s farm…err…sea to table. No middle men, no freezers, no saline/formaldehyde solution to plump up and preserve the seafood and no pricey mark ups.
That's one of the highlights of our trip so far at Club Med's Food and Wine Festival held in Columbus Isle, Bahamas. What you catch is what you eat! There's been chatter going around about locally sourced, sustainable foods, but it's not just a buzz-phrase anymore, it's how we need to think about food.
Start thinking about how to minimize the number of hands, machines and chemicals that touch your food. There are plenty of places to fish if you're near water and there are countless vegetables and fruit that you can grow yourself. Or if you're not up to gardening, start hanging out at your local farmer's markets and pay attention to the little signs at the supermarket denoting the origin of your produce. Remember six degrees of Kevin Bacon? How many degrees are you from your source of food?
This is a recipe from guest Chef Russel Cunningham of Agraria Restaurant in Washington D.C. His restaurant sources 80% of their food supply from over 40,000 family farmers from across the country. Their motto is “know your farmer, know your food.” This is the second time I've had the pleasure of meeting and enjoying Russell's food (the first time was at Club Med Ixtapa's Food and Wine Festival last October.)
In just a couple of hours, my friends and I are going fishing!! I'm so excited and crossing my fingers that we'll land a massive mahi mahi! We've got some fancy plans to cook lunch for some of the chefs tomorrow (we figured it would be nice to give them a treat!)
Mahi Mahi with Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
1/2 to 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh chili (scotch bonnet, habanero or jalepeno)
1/2 teaspoon finely minced or grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar, divided
2 cups diced pineapple (1/4 inch dice)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
four 6-ounce mahi mahi (or any other local fish, about 1 inch thick)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is bubbling, add the onion, garlic, chili, ginger and just half of the brown sugar. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the sugar has carmelized. Add the remaining brown sugar, pineapple, cider vinegar and cinnamon. Continue to cook until the pineapple has softened and the mixture is bubbling. Turn heat to low, let cook for another minute and then turn heat off. Stir in the cilantro, salt and pepper to taste.
Season the mahi mahi fillets with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan or grill pan over high heat add the olive oil and swirl to coat. When the pan is hot, add the fillets (not touching) and cook the fish for 2-4 minutes each side until cooked through.
To serve, top fillets with the pineapple brown sugar glaze.
Serves 4
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