Walnut Pistachio Crusted Sea Bass served over Bleu Cheese Mushroom Grits with Honey Apples

I made this up about ten years ago, then put the recipe away and totally forgot about it. I think when I originally made it, I left out the honey apples. The concept was that the flavors of walnuts, apples and bleu cheese really do go well together. Try them in a salad sometime and see if you don't agree.

Last night, I tried this recipe again, adding pistachios to the nut mix because I had some lying around as a failed ice cream experiment over the 4th of July holiday. The earthiness of the nuts and mushrooms, the buttery taste of the sea bass, the pungent sharp taste of the bleu cheese and the sweetness of the apples and honey all work extremely well with this dish. I did a simple side salad of butter lettuce, green onion and diced yellow bell pepper with a freshly made apple cider vinaigrette. It was all sublime.

This dish also calls for grits. Grits are just hulled, ground hominy corn. Grits is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world such as polenta. You can buy grits as instant, quick or regular. Regular is probably better and takes the longest to cook. I used Quick grits, because that's all I could find in the store. Quick grits have been par cooked and take about five minutes to prepare. Least desirable would be instant grits, which are reconstituted, dehydrated, previously cooked grits. As that Alabama geek told Joe Pesci on the witness stand in the movie, My Cousin Vinny, "No self-respecting southerner makes instant grits. I take pride in my grits."

Ingredients
For the sea bass
6 sea bass fillets, about 1/3 lb each
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs (like, Old London or Progresso)
½ cup walnuts
½ cup pistachios
6 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp horseradish
1 tbsp dried parsley
salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp melted butter

Ingredients
For everything else
3/4 cup grits (like, Quaker Quick Grits)
1 lb button mushrooms
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1 tbsp salt
pepper to taste
3/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
olive oil for cooking

The Recipes
First, prepare the sea bass:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the mustard, horseradish, salt & pepper and the parsley in a bowl. Process the nuts in a food processor, pulsing until the nuts are finely chopped. Add the bread crumbs to the nuts and mix to combine. Lay out the coating mixture onto a plate or in a large bowl. Slather the mustard mixture on all sides of each fillet, and then roll each fillet in the coating mixture. Put the fillets in a shallow buttered baking dish and drizzle 1/2 tbsp of melted butter on top. Bake 25 minutes and then put the fillets under the broiler for two minutes so the tops are browned and crusty.

While the sea bass is cooking, make the apples, then the grits:
Saute the sliced apples in butter, until golden brown, about ten minutes. Pour in the honey and mix to combine with the apples. Keep warn until time to serve.

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil until soft and browned. Pour in the chicken stock and milk, and bring to a boil. Turn down the liquid to a simmer and stir in the grits. Stir constantly to prevent sticking or burning. The grits will thicken quickly and take about five minutes. At the last minute, remove from the heat, put the bleu cheese in the mixture and stir until the cheese has melted.

To serve, put a large dollop of grits on a plate. Place the sea bass fillet on top, and then add the apples on top of and around the fillet.