Butterfish with Baked Crab

Another wowing meal to serve when friends come over!

The Meat

- 4 fillets butterfish

- salt, pepper to taste

- 1 tablespoon butter for frying

- 6 ounces of crab meat (although fresh is best!)

- 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt

- 8-10 pieces of Port Salut cheese

- 1 stalk celery, diced

- 1/2 a scallion, minced

- 1/2 teaspoon of horseradish

- salt, pepper, savory, marjoram, paprika to taste

The Veggies

- 3 sweet potatoes, chopped in large pieces

- 1 cup green beans, ends trimmed

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- salt, savory to taste

- 1 pound spinach

- 1/2 cup water

- 8-10 cloves of garlic, chopped

- 2 tablespoons butter

- lemon juice, salt, pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.

To begin this meal, peel the sweet potatoes and trim the green beans.  Place the veggies in a glass baking dish and sprinkle them with the salt and savory spice.  Brush everything with the olive oil and pour the water into the pan to keep the veggies from drying out.  Put the baking dish into the oven and let them cook for 40 minutes.

Next, make the crab melt.  Drain the crab and place it in a mixing bowl.  Add the diced celery, minced scallion, horseradish, and spices.  Mix in the Greek yogurt and toss in the Port Salut cheese.  Blend everything together with a fork and set aside - I warmed this in a pan until the cheese got all gooey and melted the whole mixture together into a delicious melt-style lump.

Warm the griddle pan and melt the tablespoon of butter for the butterfish.  Season both sides of your fish fillets and let them cook on medium heat, flipping every 2-3 minutes until the fish is white, opaque, and flaky.  

In another small pan, melt the rest of the butter and saute the chopped garlic, stirring occasionally, for around 5 minutes.  Set it aside to toss with the spinach - which you can put in a large pan with the water, lemon juice, pepper, and salt, and wilt on low heat.  When the spinach is wilted and dark green (don't let it go brown), drain it and toss it with the butter and garlic.  

While your spinach is wilting, you should use your fourth burner to heat up the crab mixture with some medium-low heat and turn it into a crab melt.  Use a spatula to flip the gooey awesomeness after 3-4 minutes, and after 8 minutes or so it should be ready to layer on top of the fish.  Plate everything and serve with some white wine!