Gluten Free Fried Flounder Recipe

Gluten Free Pan Fried Flounder with a Simple Risotto

This weekend, I decided to try a gluten-free diet for a while. For those not familiar, a gluten-free (GF) diet excludes foods that contain gluten. Ok, that's obvious!  This mainly consists of wheat products, barley and rye, and food additives.

So, we must mostly avoid bread products and pasta made from wheat flour. I only eat a little bread anyway, but pasta could be a problem, so I found some pasta products at Trader Joe's made from rice flour. I'll be testing them out and reporting back.

I would love to hear from you if anyone has experience with GF diets and products they recommend.

Why Gluten Free?

Good question. I'm not sure why, except last week, I spoke with a couple of gluten-free friends because of allergies, and they told me how great they feel since they removed gluten from their diets. I looked at what I would have to give up and all the possible substitutions and thought, "What the heck?" Let's see how I feel after a few weeks.

On Saturday, my wife bought me some Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Rice Flour for basic cooking purposes, and last night, I had the opportunity to try it. My youngest daughter didn't like the idea that we would start cooking with rice flour and voiced her opinion.

I told her to try it, and if she hated the gluten-free products I purchased and the meals I made with them, I would continue to cook wheat flour pasta for her and rice flour pasta for me.

Gluten Free Pan Fried Flounder

So I cooked some fresh flounder fillets that fishmonger Andy sold me last night on Saturday. This fish was incredibly fresh, so I hoped the Red Mill GF flour wouldn't add any funky flavors.

I already have a great recipe posted for Pan Fried Flounder with Potatoes and Parsley if you want more details and exact ingredient amounts, but here's what I did last night.

I added some Red Mill Gluten Free Rice Flour to a pie plate seasoned with salt, pepper, and Fisherman's Wharf seafood seasoning.  Then, I dredged the flounder filets in the seasoned flour and set it aside.

I then heated a large, nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, and when it was good and hot, I added a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once that was hot, I added the seasoned filets before the butter and oil started smoking.

Depending on your flounder filets' size and thickness, it should take about 2 - 3 minutes per side to get them nicely browned and cooked through.  Read my post called How to Prevent Fish From Sticking to the Pan. It is essentially a primer on how to cook fish perfectly.

Simple Risotto Side Dish

Many people think risotto is a pasta dish, but it is not and can be part of my gluten-free diet. Hurrah for me!  Risotto is a rice dish made from Arborio or carnaroli rice that is nothing like the more familiar rice we're used to cooking.

Again, I have some great risotto recipes on my site, including  Wild Mushroom Risotto,  Truffle Risotto,   Simple Shrimp Risotto,  and a risotto primer for the best risotto recipe from Chef Roberts.

My doubting daughter Maddie helped her mother and me prepare a simple risotto made with Arborio rice, seafood stock, onions sautéed in butter, and frozen peas. Nothing could be more accessible; the recipes above show you how it's done. Make extra because the kids will want it in their lunch boxes the next day.

Maddie also arranged our salad side of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, a staple at our house on many nights. Mom does the slicing, and I finish with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Maddie then seasons the plate with freshly ground salt and black pepper.

Plating

I tried to make it look nice, so I added some risotto to the plate, topped it with a flounder filet, and squeezed a little fresh lemon juice on top but added an extra wedge of lemon for those who like more juice. I finished the plate with some chopped fresh parsley.

Doesn't get better than this. Oh, and for those wondering about the Gluten Free Rice Flour?  The kids didn't notice any difference, devoured their entire meals, and returned for seconds of the risotto. My wife and I thought the crust on the fish was better than usual, but I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the flour or if I'm getting better at cooking fish.

Sorry for the photos being a little soft. I shot them with my iPhone instead of running upstairs to get my good camera.  Oh, we served a delicious 2008 Hopper Creek Winery Chardonnay with this meal, and it was perfect. Maybe it was perfect, so I shot these photos with my iPhone.