Lake Erie Walleye with Edamame

This recipe and photography was provided courtesy of local cookbook author and chef, Carla Snyder. Learn more about Carla and discover her recipes at Ravenouskitchen.com or in her cookbook, One Pan Whole Family.

If you want to eat local (or more deliciously), Lake Erie walleye is the fish for you. With its mild and flaky white flesh, local walleye is plentiful all summer long and right up through the fall. It’s the biggest member of the perch family at around 10 to 20 inches long and as a game fish, they’re not only delicious to eat but lots of fun to catch in shallow Lake Erie. Because walleye is local to the waters of lake cities like Cleveland, it’s often the freshest wild caught fish in the seafood case and as anyone who loves fish knows, the best fish in the case are always the freshest. Walleye is delicious cooked many ways, most often pan-fried, breaded and fried or roasted on a sheet pan as in the recipe below.

Sheet pan fish dinners are among the easiest and fastest dinners to arrive on my table and this roasted vegetables and fish cooked on one pan are the kind of hands-off cooking I find necessary on busy weeknights. For me it’s all about a little sauce on top and this simple combo of potatoes, edamame and quick cooking walleye filets are elevated to a whole new level with the simple addition of yogurt laced with lemon and cilantro. I know, it sounds crazy, but once you try it, you’ll be seduced by this primary sauce. It’s even great on grilled chicken, pork and rice and legume dishes so always have a lemon, plain yogurt and a little cilantro on hand for spur of the moment saucing.

It’s that easy: A general rule when cooking fish is to cook it 7 minutes per inch in a hot, hot pan or oven. Of course, the temperature of the oven or skillet comes into play as well but this is a general guideline. Just give the filet a push with your finger after 7- or 8-minutes total time. It should feel firm and not mushy.

Lake Erie Walleye with Edamame

Start to finish: 45 minutes
Hands on time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-lb new potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup Greek 2% fat yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• Pinch of cayenne
• Four 6 to 8-oz walleye fillets
• 1 cup frozen, shelled edamame, no need to thaw

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF (To save time, place a foil lined sheet pan in the oven to preheat).
2. On a large cutting board, slice the potatoes in half and then each half into 4 wedges, chop the garlic and add it all to a medium bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper.
3. Remove the hot sheet pan from the oven, dump the potatoes on it and spread them out so that they cook evenly. Roast the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until browned on the bottom.
4. While the potatoes roast, combine the yogurt, cilantro, zest, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, cayenne and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl and keep refrigerated.
5. Combine the remaining 2 teaspoons juice and 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
6. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and salt and pepper them. Remove the potatoes from the oven and flip them over with a thin edged spatula. Move potatoes to one side of the pan and sprinkle over the edamame. Lay the fish onto the cleared space and drizzle with the lemon/oil mixture. Return the pan to the oven for 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork and the potatoes are browned and tender. (It’s easy to remove the skin: slide the edge of the spatula between the skin and flesh and separate the flesh from the skin. The filets might break up a bit but the skin should stick to the foil.)
7. Serve the fish and potatoes on heated plates with a dollop of lemon yogurt on top.

Carla’s Tips & Recommendations:

Extra Hungry Kids? Cut a few carrots about the same dimension as the potatoes (so they cook evenly) and toss them with the potatoes to roast. It may take a few more minutes but the kids will love it.

Adult Taste Buds? Sprinkle the adult fish portions with a little curry powder to zing them up. The yogurt sauce will go great with it.

In the Glass: Look for a Vermentino from Sardinia. It’s a lot like Sauvignon Blanc but softer and less stringent. You can find interesting bottles for as little as $12.

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