Cajun Cod with Praline Sauce over Dirty Rice

I can count on one hand the number of times in my life that I've grilled.  And the number of times that I've grilled completely by myself is...zero.  But on Wednesday night, after the first day of school, I grilled!  My dad had to make sure the fish was done (I have a fear of undercooking meat; one time while babysitting I set off the smoke alarm because I didn't want to give the kids undercooked hotdogs.  Surprisingly, they asked me back.), but I did the rest, and it felt great.  Maybe this will be the year I really get down to business and take on the grill :)

This is one of those recipes that I saw and put on my to-make list right away, because it sounded and looked amazing.  But I put all sorts of things on that list, and just because they get written down doesn't mean I actually make them...either I don't want to drain my wallet on expensive ingredients, we don't have a kitchen tool, or the recipe isn't really my style.  Which is a lame excuse, and one I think I'm getting over having made this.  Because this recipe wasn't my style- the grilling or the flavor combo.  But I was absolutely blown away by how perfectly the flavors blended and how it all came together.  

I'm eating the leftovers tonight, which I'm pretty excited about.  But not for a while, because I just ate six peanut butter cookies straight from the cooling rack.

Cajun Cod with Praline Sauce Over Dirty Rice

adapted from Annie's Eats

For the dirty rice:

1 link andouille or  sausage chopped

1/2 cup diced onion 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups chicken or veggie broth

1 small bunch green onions, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

3/4 cup long grain white rice

salt and cayenne pepper, to taste

For the praline sauce:

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

pinch salt

1 Tbsp butter at room temp

For the cod:

2 Tbsp olive oil

several generous dashes dried thyme

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

4 cod fillets (you can use any white fish, halibut, tilapia, etc)

To make the dirty rice, cook the sausage a few minutes on medium-high in a large saucepan.  Stir in olive oil, onion, bell pepper, and garlic.  Cook just until softened, 2-3 minutes more.  Stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute.  

Mix in the broth.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.  Season with salt and cayenne pepper.  Stir in the green onions.

While the rice is cooking, make the praline sauce.  Toast the pecans in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.  

Transfer to a plate and set aside.  Return the pan to medium heat.  Combine sugar and water, bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the pecans and salt and cook 1-2 minutes more.  Remove from heat and stir in butter.  Keep warm until served.

To prepare the fish, combine oil, paprika, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to blend.  Pat the mixture over both sides of the fish.

Bring grill to medium heat.  Grill until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily, flipping halfway (I took just over 10 minutes).  Serve over dirty rice with praline sauce.

*Notes:  the original praline sauce called for 1 Tbsp whiskey or apple juice.  I obviously don't have whiskey, but use it if you wish!  Also, the fish blend wasn't quite as "Cajun" as I imagined it would be.  It was good, but I would have liked a little more kick.  Maybe up the garlic and paprika, or even add a dash of seasoning salt.