Perch Spaghetti

Summer fishing is lazy.

 

On slow bayous carpeted with duckweed and water hyacinth (which, while pretty, is a horribly invasive plant).

Worms, bobbers, cane poles, and "perch jerkin'."

Maybe a little bit of action from a catfish or alligator gar.

The Boy caught this juvenile gar.

Even a small one has nasty teeth.

But for the most part, summer fishing is quiet, calm.  Perch (bream or sun perch) aren't big fighters.  Often, they hook themselves.

These pictures show pretty, serene places.

But I could have just as easily snapped photos of litter.  A secluded boat launch turned into a dump site for old furniture, tires, worm containers, other assorted junk and trash.  Instead of moving to get a better view, I could have left the trash floating in the water in the shot.  Beer cans, water bottles, a Doritos bag.  I chose to leave these things out.  Maybe I shouldn't have.  Maybe I should have shown the dirty truth.

Nothing burns me up more than when people jack with our wetlands.  It's something that's been on my mind a lot lately.  Something that keeps me up at night.  Something I wake up at night thinking about.  There are so many things negatively impacting --destroying-- Louisiana's wetlands.  Litter and illegal dumping is only a very small part.  But it's a part that creates more of itself.  It's too easy for people to look at the contents of a dumpster (or what should be in a dumpster) thrown at the water's edge and think what's one candy wrapper more?  Compared to other harder-to-manage issues like damage from dredging, drilling, and draining, litter is much more fixable.  It's not that hard to keep your trash to yourself.

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September's Pantry Party theme is "Fish."  

My pantry ingredients were:
onion, garlic, chicken broth, and spaghetti.

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This is my dad's recipe.  

He makes a similar dish with oysters.

Print It

Perch Spaghetti
from my dad

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
Tony's Creole Seasoning
garlic powder
1 lb perch fillets
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, finely chopped
2 banana peppers (or a small bell pepper), finely chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
4 servings cooked spaghetti
handful cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
salt & pepper, to taste

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium.  Season the fish with Tony's and garlic powder.  When the oil/butter is hit, add the fish and cook through.  Remove fillets from the pan and keep warm.  Add the onion, garlic, celery, and pepper.  Saute until tender.  Add chicken broth to the pan and simmer for about 8 minutes.  Toss in the cooked spaghetti and the cherry tomatoes and coat with the sauce.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Divide the spaghetti onto 4 plates.  Divide the fish between the plates, placing on top of the spaghetti.  Garnish with chopped green onion.


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