Blackened haddock with flash fried daikon and pea puree

I love the internet.I was milling around today trying to find a recipe that would use up some of the ingredients I had in the house. Ingredients that would also fit into a diet type thing we are currently on. We had some haddock fillets in the freezer and some daikon radishes from last weeks CSA pickup.  I was trying to fit celeriac or kohlrabi in as well but that was not in the cards for today. I did however find this beauty on a blog called The Portobello Kitchen, sadly it looks like it has been abandoned but I plan to mine it for several more recipes.

I followed the recipe pretty faithfully, I used haddock instead of halibut, the haddock fillets I had included the skin on one side which actually takes to blackening beautifully. I also didn't have any sprouts but I topped it with some arugula and a drizzle of olive oil to finish it and it worked wonderfully.

I must say that I am not typically a fan of blackening things. There was a period where everything seemed to be blackened in restaurants and it was often done so badly that I really avoided it as a technique.  It is so easy to go over the top with salt and other seasonings that you destroy the flavor of what you are cooking. You might as well blacken your hat for all the flavor the ingredients brings in some dishes. That being said, really be careful with your spice rub, don't over do it on the cayenne or salt. I would add them last and really mix it up well before tasting it. Try dipping a celery or carrot stick in your rub before applying it to your fish, that way you have a measuring stick for how overwhelming the flavor is ( or hopefully isn't)

The daikon was a real treat, I got lazy and did more of a thin steak fry cut instead of a true julienne, and looking back I think I should have gone for the julienne. The daikon strips were really tasty but since they had to fry a little longer they got a bit soggy.

The pea puree was a star, I used regular old frozen peas, added some salt to the water before boiling them and then used the stick blender with some granulated garlic and olive oil. It was really tasty, the pea flavor shined through while providing a great base for the fish and a contrast in texture and flavor. Pea puree will be involved in my food again very soon.