I love seafood and nothing beats some good ole southern style cookin’. Living in Florida and Texas the past 4 years there is a common trend on the menu… fried everything. At almost every seafood restaurant you will see an appetizer of some kind of fried fish or gator nugget and they are so good! Now that I’ve been home in Cinci for a while, I really miss fresh seafood and southern style food. So in lieu of my local restaurant craving that’s not accessible, I wanted to make my own healthier version. These little fried wonders are coated in almond meal. This is Paleo approved as well if you are on a Paleo diet. Almond meal is basically almonds ground up so fine that it has a flour like consistency and can be used in place of flour for a healthier alternative. I mixed some spices such as cajun, paprika, lemon pepper, and salt to give it some flavor. I promise when you taste these you would never know you’re saving a lot of calories and eating healthier! I also used coconut oil but you can use olive oil as well. I had to use Frisch’s tarter sauce (not Paleo approved, but I am home and I only have so much time to enjoy Cincinnati/NKY favorites!)
To get started take your mahi mahi and cut into 1-2 inch pieces, pat dry with a paper towel. (this helps the egg and almond meal to stick to the fish better) Take a shallow bowl and whisk your eggs. In a tupperware container, mix your almond meal, salt, lemon pepper, and seasonings. Place a skillet on medium heat and coat with coconut or olive oil. Let the skillet get hot before placing your mahi.
Take your mahi and coat in the egg shake off any excess egg, then transfer to the tupperware. Once there are enough pieces to fill the tupperware close the lid and shake the seasonings. When the mahi is coated evenly transfer to the skillet. Repeat if you have more fish pieces. Cook the mahi 3-4 minutes on each side (smaller pieces will cook faster) You want a golden brown color, it may look a little darker since you added the cajun seasoning. Once cooked, place on paper towels to soak up excess grease.
Serve with your choice of dipping sauce and lemon or lime wedge!
What you’ll need:
1 lb Mahi Mahi
1 large egg
1 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (or olive oil)
4 lemon and lime wedges
tarter sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce
Healthypassions 