Olympic Food Challenge: Cayman Islands - Almond Tree Snapper with Lemon Herbed Butter

We are fast approaching the end of the Olympic Food Challenge.  After tonight I only have two meals to cook and then I'll have researched, cooked and written about the cuisine of twenty nine countries since the start of the Olympic Games.  Tonight's second to last nation is the Cayman Islands.

Before I get onto the meal, I need to tell you about one of the recipes that I found.  Even if I could have sourced the ingredients there is no way that I am willing to cook Turtle Cordon Bleu.  I know that I profess to be willing to eat anything, but when a meal consists of the young of an endangered species, wrapped in ham and cheese and deep fried, I'm out.

From the same site that brought you Turtle Cordon Bleu I also found Almond Tree Snapper.  We had snapper for the first time earlier this week and it was so good we were really looking forward to having it again.  Sadly, for the first time since the start of the Olympic Food Challenge, we were let down by the fishmongers of Leeds Kirkgate Market.  Snapper was off the menu.  Luckily the stall holders are not just sellers of fish, they also really know their product.

After a good chat with our fishmonger of choice, Z returned home with some hake fillets.  Not necessarily a Caribbean fish, but far and away the highest selling fish to R Bethell's Caribbean customers.

The only difference between this recipe and one for bread crumbed cod*, is the addition of salted almonds in the breadcrumbs.  I found salted almonds in Sainsbury's, but I'm sure they are widely available.  We served the fish with roasted peppers, courgettes and sweet potatoes**.  It's a shame that we couldn't get snapper but that can wait for another day.  Adding almonds to bread crumbs is a good idea and one we'll definitely be using again.

*apart from the fish.
**fish and chips on a Friday?