Corifena in butter sauce with lemon and basil. Coryphen in butter sauce with lemon and basil Mahi mahi fish recipe

A quick recipe for preparing a swift sea predator

My favorite pastime while on vacation in Cuba is swimming with a mask and fins to the reefs, where with the help of bread you can gather a swarm of tropical fish around you. During one of these swims, I discovered a pair of lionfish - beautiful tropical fish with fins and feathers topped with poisonous spines.

Lionfish known in North America, like Lion fish, native to the Indian and Pacific oceans. They appeared in the Caribbean a little more than 15 years ago, having got there from a private aquarium in Miami that was damaged by a storm. They had no natural enemies in their new place.

These fish are a real scourge for the Caribbean ecosystem. Pretending to be a bunch of algae, they attract small fish, fry, and shrimp and devour them, sucking them like a vacuum cleaner into their large mouth. They also destroy eggs and larvae on reefs. It is useless to fight them: a female lionfish is capable of laying 15 thousand eggs every 4 days. I thought that I urgently needed to report this couple to the local fisheries authorities, in this case the organizers of fishing tours. The lionfish had to be caught as soon as possible. Recently, mass underwater hunting for these fish has begun to be organized on the islands of the Caribbean. The winner receives a prize, and the catch is sent to restaurants; fortunately, the lionfish, despite its poisonous spines, turned out to be edible. If you think that I want to offer you a recipe for making lionfish, then you are mistaken. During that swim I had another meeting.

At some point, when I was hovering over the reefs, feeding tropical fish, a lightning-fast shadow flashed under my feet. big fish. It happened so quickly that I didn’t even have time to react, as did the fish around me. They just flinched, but I knew that there was one less of them. Having reported on the shore about lionfish, I also told about an encounter with a fast fish unknown to me. The organizer of the deep-sea fishing confidently declared that it was a mahi-mahi fish and immediately offered to go with him to catch it. It turned out that this is one of the fastest fish in the world, despite its size: its weight can reach thirty kilograms, and its body length can be two meters. When hunting flying fish, it is able to follow flying fish underwater and catch prey upon splashdown.
When fishing in the open sea, mahi-mahi bites on artificial bait in the form of the same flying fish. High speed does not allow her to understand the deception. Sea fishing is not one of my hobbies. I politely declined, but tried mahi-mahi at my resort restaurant that evening. While vacationing in Cuba, at lunch and dinner I always go to the counter where they fry fish. Meat in Cuba is not very good, but fish is usually fresh, as it is caught locally. The selection is limited, but mahi-mahi is often available. Now I at least had an idea of ​​what it was like.

As I later found out, the official name of this fish is Coryphaena major, derived from Latin: Coryphaena hippurus. In Russia it is known as the “golden mackerel”. The name "mahi-mahi" used in North America comes from the Hawaiian Islands. It means "strong" in Hawaiian. Coryphaena often jumps out of the water, changing color from blue and green to silver or golden with a reddish tint. Therefore, in Spanish-speaking countries, mahi-mahi is called “dorado maverikos” - “golden wanderer”. In Europe, it was not entirely correctly called dolphin fish, but a fish with the name “dolphin” is not suitable for a restaurant menu: visitors will not order dolphin. This is how the name mahi-mahi became established in gastronomy.

This summer I encountered Coryphaena again. On one hot and stuffy August day, I was invited to dinner with my close friend Misha K. Taking into account the humidity factor, the air temperature felt then close to 40 degrees Celsius. The thunderstorm promised by weather forecasters still could not gather, but was already making itself felt by low atmospheric pressure. Initially it was assumed that lunch would take place under a tent near the brazier. The thought of having to sit in the yard in such heat, and besides, eating meat - and this is what is most often cooked on the brazier - was depressing and completely took away my appetite.

As it turned out, the owner overplayed everything. The table was set in the dining room under the gentle breeze of the air conditioning. In the cool weather, Russian appetizers, greens, and homemade marinated fish went easily with vodka. At the same time, there were no signs in the kitchen that a hot dish was expected. There was a small saucepan on the stove, which, as it turned out later, contained sauce. When the moment came, Misha prepared the main dish in 20 minutes. It was a mahi-mahi fish. He heated the sauce, took it out of the refrigerator and quickly fried pieces of fish fillet on both sides, poured the sauce on top and served it to the guests. Misha was once my cooking student, now there is a lot to learn from him. I have already used his recipe for lobster bisque in this column.

The fish turned out to be the most tender. As it turned out, Coryphen was purchased as a frozen whole fillet on sale in one of the supermarkets. The price was reasonable - about $25 per kilogram. The meticulous buyer found out that the fish was cut up and frozen right on the floating fish factory, which is why it retained all its gastronomic qualities and even its bright, rich color.

Ingredients for four people:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt for fish and a little more for sauce

1/4 teaspoon white pepper for fish and a little more for sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 mahi-mahi fillets (each weighing approx. 200 g.)

We start by making a butter, lemon and basil sauce.

Combine butter, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and basil in a medium saucepan and heat, stirring, over low heat until butter melts. Then cover the pan with a lid and leave on low heat.

Then heat in a large frying pan over medium heat. olive oil. Sprinkle fish with pepper and salt to taste. Fry it on one side for about 3 minutes, turn it over and fry it for 3-4 minutes on the other side. It should brown slightly. It is very important not to overcook it. Transfer the fillets to separate plates and pour the prepared sauce over them. Serve immediately.

Appearance

Coryphaena, also known as mahi-mahi, is a member of the Coryphenaceae family. It has an elongated, laterally flattened body and a rounded, high-browed head. The color is bright, silver-golden-yellow. The scales are small, the coating is uniform. Distinctive feature coryphens - a long dorsal fin, starting almost immediately behind the head and reaching almost to the sickle-shaped caudal fin. Coryphen can reach two meters in length and weigh 45-50 kilograms. Due to the peculiarities of the body structure, the coryphen is considered one of the fastest species of marine fish, and therefore has few enemies, mainly larger predators. The Coryphaena family includes only two species: the small coryphaena, also known as the "dorade", and the large coryphaena, or silver mackerel.

Lifestyle

The habitat of the coryphaena is the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Thanks to the people of the Caribbean, the fish is known as mahi-mahi. It gathers in large flocks and makes feeding and spawning migrations to the open sea. Most people prefer to stay surface layers water. Due to its feeding characteristics, it is practically not found in coastal waters; it prefers to stay at fairly large depths. Coryphaena is a classic predator, characterized by its gluttony. The main food of the coryphaena is surface and flying species of fish; it also feeds on other representatives of the ichthyofauna. Coryphaena spawns in the warm summer months.

Commercial significance

Korifena has quite a large commercial value. The meat of this fish is rich in useful substances, minerals and trace elements, and therefore is highly valued. In addition to its commercial value, mahi-mahi is one of the main objects of sport fishing. There are a large number of companies organizing fishing tours for this fish. They catch it using all kinds of artificial and natural baits; squid meat is most suitable for this. Korifena is a true fighter, resisting the tackle to the last, and therefore this fish is always considered a desirable trophy for the vast majority of sea fishing lovers.

Mahi-mahi is one of the most beautiful fish living in the ocean. This fish cannot be confused with any other. "Mahi-mahi" is translated from the Aztec language as "strong-strong." This fish received this name for its desperate resistance when hooked.

There are other names for this fish: for example, in the Caribbean it is called dolphin-fish. Although, naturally, it has nothing in common with a dolphin, because a dolphin is a mammal, and mahi-mahi is a fish. In Thailand and Germany it is called “golden mackerel”, although, again, this fish has nothing in common with mackerel, since mackerel is an ordinary mackerel. The Spaniards call it the “golden dorado,” but mahi-mahi has no resemblance to the dorado fish. Dorado is smaller and looks like a common crucian carp. In Malta it is called "lampuka" and is even featured on the Maltese 10 cent coins. In Japan - "shira". But in Greece and after it in Russia, mahi-mahi is called “korifena”.

When anglers catch a mahi-mahi and pull it out of the water, its skin begins to shimmer with almost all the colors of the rainbow. Mahi-mahi can change color, like the rare gemstone alexandrite - only in a wider range of colors.

Residents of Japan, for example, are sure that by eating this fish, you become strong and active. No wonder, because this miracle fish contains so many useful microelements and vitamins that our body needs that there is no need to be surprised. Mahi-mahi is very rich in vitamin PP, phosphorus and chromium. Studies also show that those who include this fish in their diet are not susceptible to diseases such as anemia, dermatitis, inflammatory diseases of the eyes and mucous membranes.

I made it yesterday too, in the oven.

My dinner.
Regular salad with sauce and fish. Mine, because after six I don’t eat anymore, and my men don’t agree with me))) I have dinner alone)


The fish is sooo tasty, tender, juicy!

And this is to have fun. We were in our favorite Korean store and saw this in front of the checkout))

Boxes of noodles.