Jazz, catfish and Tabasco

The other day I was wondering how to cook the catfish fillets sent by the splendid people at Fish In A Box and started looking around for recipes. My sister, a professional development chef, advised frying them in cornmeal, which is apparently the tradition way in the Southern US of A. Then I came across a more detailed recipe in the excellent book Jazz Cooks.

This book has long had a place on my kitchen shelf. It consists of favourite recipes from a whole range of jazz musicians, together with interviews with each, specially taken photos and background detail. The book is organised not by food categories (as one might expect from a recipe book) but by instrument! However the full index means that recipes can be located easily enough - including one for Branford Marsalis' favourite catfish.

Jazz fans out there will know that Branford Marsalis is a mean saxophone player, with a particular reputation for the soprano sax. He is also brother of Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter of great repute and part of the jazz dynasty coming from New Orleans (though he now lives in New York). He gives his mother's recipe for fried catfish - and very good it is too.

Take catfish fillets and coat them with salt, pepper and dried dill (I used about a tablespoon for 2 fillets). Leave them in the fridge for at least a few hours, up to 24 hours, for the dill to penetrate. When it's time to cook them, dip in beaten egg and coat with corn meal. Corn meal is finely powered polenta, you can get it in the Jamaican food section at Tesco (at least that's where I found mine - and at 35p for a big bag it won't break the bank). Fry in oil (I used sunflower, though the recipe says peanut oil) for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown and serve immediately.

Mrs Marsalis' recipe says to serve with cornbread and Tabasco . We didn't have any cornbread, but I did try some Tabasco - and much to my surprise it worked really well. Normally I just like some lemon juice with my fish, but there's something rich and meaty about the fried catfish that was gingered up very nicely by a few drops of McIlhenny's finest. A great surprise and a welcome excuse for some great heat in the meal. Go ahead and try it!