iSanté Staff Writer

Famed chef Susan Spicer, owner of the award-winning Bayona restaurant in New Orleans, is suing BP and other companies over the catastrophic oil spill that is costing Gulf Coast restaurants other seafood businesses millions. Her message is simple: BP should pay. We applaud Chef Spicer.

There is no better time than now to celebrate Cajun cuisine. We love her take on this simple-to-make regional dish, full of fine flavors and textures:

Pecan-crusted Fish with Citrus Meuniére
Serves 4
Preparation time: 40 minutes

Four 6-ounce filets of snapper, redfish, drum, or trout
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh
1 teaspoon orange zest, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
3 tablespoons oil or clarified butter

Season fillets with salt and pepper and set aside. Place nuts, flour, thyme, citrus zest, and cayenne pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well blended but not powdery. Transfer nut mixture to plate. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the egg and milk. Dip fish into the egg mixture then into the nut-flour mixture. Press to coat the fillets, then set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and when hot but not smoking, add the fish fillets. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove to a platter or plates and keep warm while you make the sauce.

Citrus Meuniére

3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon each orange and lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Salt, pepper
Hot sauce


Melt the butter in a pan and let it foam and turn golden brown. Swirl the pan to see the milk solids on the bottom. When nice and brown, pour in the juice and swirl to mix. Add parsley, salt, pepper, and a few drops of hot sauce and spoon evenly over the fish. Serve immediately.