Say hello to this week’s guest star, Courtney Williams, the amazing chef behind @theconsciousculinarian. Courtney is 27 and I feel like she’s done it ALL! She’s got so many years of cooking under her belt and has worked in so many different areas of the food industry.

It all began at home for Courtney. Her mom and her 2 grandmothers were always in the kitchen, so she inevitably picked up some cooking skills around them. Courtney says she always knew that her career would involve cooking, but she says that it wasn’t until she had a health scare that she actually decided to go for it. She was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis during high school, and the only channel working on the hospital TV was the Food Network. She spent some time in bed, unable to eat and learning all that she could from the Food Network. Courtney was overjoyed when she was allowed to leave the hospital, but skeptical when her doctors told her that she could eat just about anything. They told her that she should head on over to McDonalds and knock herself out. Courtney was certain that after everything her body had just been through, the last thing she needed was a Big Mac. That was when health conscious food came into play. Her health forced her to become aware of what she was eating and how it made her feel, she became passionate about cooking, and she felt that this it was a journey worth sharing.

“It Kind of just happened this way. I always knew I wanted to help people. Making little changes to people’s diets and showing them that it is not necessarily harder to eat better, that’s how I got to where I am now.”

Courtney moved from Tampa to Miami and began her studies at Johnson and Wales University. She spent four years getting her bachelors in food service management and her culinary arts associates degree. After her graduation, her career took several turns and things got really interesting. She worked for a Catering company run by two Colombian chefs, she drove and managed a food truck, and had to cook out of it. She worked as a hostess in restaurants, and she worked at the grill + salad stations at Zuma for about a year. She also ran her own juice bar and sold specialty juices, sandwiches, wraps and baked goods. She catered an 80 person party practically by herself. She took some time off from cooking and worked as a nanny for four years, but she eventually began to miss it so she began to take catering jobs here and there. Finally, she worked for another catering company for a while until she decided she was ready to venture out on her own.

Nowadays, Courtney is a personal chef + she does small scale catering and teaches cooking classes. She specializes in nutrient dense, health conscious cuisine. I think it’s really cool that she’ll come to your home to teach a class. If you’re in need of some cooking skills and can’t find the time to leave your home, you should definitely get in touch with her! Courtney was kind enough to give me (and, by extension, you) a private lesson, free of charge! She taught me how to make piccata using seafood instead of chicken and cauliflower mash. Everything was so yummy! You can find the recipe below.

Les presento a Courtney Williams, la chef detrás de @theconsciousculinarian . Su historia es muy chévere, lleva muchos años cocinando y ha tenido trabajos de todo tipo en la industria de la comida. Empezó a cocinar porque fue diagnosticada con colitis ulcerativa cuando estaba en el colegio. Tuvo que aprender a comer bien y desde entonces le ha encantado compartir sus trucos y recetas con los demás. Ha trabajado en diferentes empresas de “catering”, manejó y cocinó dentro de un camión, trabajó en el restaurante Zuma, fue niñera, montó su propio negocio de venta de jugos, sándwiches y wraps, y cocinó para una fiesta de 80 personas sola! Sus mil experiencias la han convertido en la chef que es hoy, eso me encanta! Actualmente, Courtney trabaja como “personal chef”, hace catering y dicta clases de cocina. Su especialidad es la alimentación consciente, la comida rica en nutrientes y deliciosa. Courtney va a las casas de sus clientes y les da las clases ahí! Así que si quieres aprender a cocinar y no te queda fácil salir de tu casa, ponte en contacto con ella!
Fui muy afortunada porque tuve mi clase privada con Courtney. Me enseñó a preparar piccata con Mero y puré de coliflor! Una delicia!!! Al final de esta página encontrarán la receta.

GROUPER PICCATA w/ PARMESAN CAULIFLOWER MASH

Serves 2-3 people

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. Grouper or other Wild White Fish, cut into 3 or 4 portions
• ¼ c. Tapioca Flour
• 5 Tbsp. Quality Butter
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 small Shallots
• 1 Tbsp. Capers
• 1 Lemon, zest & juice
• ¼ cup White Wine (chardonnay or other dry white wine)
• ¾ cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tbsp. Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped for garnish
• Salt & Pepper to taste

FOR THE MASH:

• 1 head Cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• Salt & Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wash your hands and all produce thoroughly. Start by chopping the cauliflower, shallots, mince the garlic, and zest and juice the lemon. Cut the lemon into thin slices.
2. Fill a large pot with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a roiling boil and add in cauliflower florets. Cook about 10 minutes until fork tender.
3. While cauliflower is boiling, cut the grouper into three or four portions. Next, dredge the grouper generously with tapioca flour, salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to cover every inch of the fish in the flour.
4. Heat a skillet or saute pan and add 4 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Sear grouper three minutes per side until slightly golden brown and crispy on each side. Transfer seared grouper to a plate.
5. Add in shallots and garlic to hot pan and caramelize for a couple of minutes. Add in wine to deglaze pan and reduce the liquid by ¼.
6. Next, add the chicken broth and lemon juice and lemon slices. Reduce the sauce by ½ until it has slightly thickened.
7. Strain the cauliflower in a colander and place in a mixing bowl. Add in butter, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a potato masher or pulse in a food processor until texture resembles mashed potatoes.
8. Adjust the seasonings for the piccata sauce with salt and pepper. Add the capers along with the seared fish back to the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes until fish is opaque and cooked through.
9. Remove pan from heat and serve alongside the cauliflower mash. Spoon the pan sauce over the fish and garnish with chopped parsley. Enjoy!

TIPS:

• When you sear the fish, make sure your pan is hot enough. This ensures you achieve a nice, crisp golden brown color before flipping to the next side.
• Set timers to help you remember what is cooking and when it will be finished. This will help make sure that every component of the dish is ready to be plated at the same time.
• Try microplaning or zesting your garlic instead of chopping it so it comes out as a paste form.
• Why use olive oil and butter? The fat content in the butter, and the monounsaturated fats in olive oil become balanced when the sauce is made. The  two flavors together are amazing and make the sauce in this dish!
• My favorite butters to use are Kerrygold, Kate’s Homemade Butter and Vital Farms Alfresco Butter.
  EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Mise En Place Bowls
• Mixing Bowl
• Small Pot
• Colander
• Box Grater
• Zester
• Lemon Juicer
• 10-12” Sauté Pan or Skillet
• Potato Masher or Food Processor
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons

INGREDIENTES:

•  1 libra de mero (pártelo en 3 o 4 porciones_
•  ¼ taza de harina de tapioca
• 5 cucharadas de mantequilla de Buena calidad
• 2 cucharadas de aceite de oliva
• 4 dientes de ajo, picados
• 2 chalotes pequeños, picados
• 1 cucharada de alcaparras
• 1 limón (ralladura y zumo)
• ¼ taza de vino blanco
• ¾ taza de caldo de pollo
• 1 cucharada de perejil, picado (para decorar)
• Sal y pimienta al gusto
• Para el Puré de Coliflor:
• 1 cabeza de coliflor, en trocitos
• 1 cucharada de mantequilla
• 1/3 taza de queso parmesano, rallado
• Sal y pimienta al gusto

INSTRUCCIONES:

1.     Lava tus manos y las verduras. Pica los chalotes, el ajo, ralla el limón y exprímelo.

2.     Pon a hervir agua en una olla grande. Agrega los trocitos de coliflor a la olla y cocínalos por aproximadamente 10 minutos.

3.     Mientras cocinas el coliflor, prepara el pescado. Haz una mezcla de harina de tapioca, sal y pimiento. Unta los filetes de pescado con la mezcla. El pescado debe quedar completamente cubierto de harina.

4.     Calienta un sartén y agrega 4 cucharadas de mantequilla y una de aceite de oliva. Derrite la mantequilla y pon el pescado en el sartén. Séllalo. 3 minutos por lado. Debe quedar dorado. Transfiere el pescado a un plato y déjalo a un lado.

5.     Agrega el caldo de pollo, el zumo de limón, la ralladura de limón y las tajadas de limón al sartén. Cocina hasta que la salsa empiece a espesar.

6.     Mientras la salsa se está hacienda, prepara el puré de coliflor. Saca los trocitos de coliflor de la olla, cuélalos, y pásalos a un cuenco grande. Agrega la mantequilla, el queso parmesano, sal y pimiento al cuenco. Con un tenedor o un machacador, machaca los trocitos de coliflor hasta que veas que te va quedando una textura similar a la de un puré de papa.

7.     Vuelve con la salsa. Agrega sal, pimiento y las alcaparras al sartén. Pon los filetes de pescado en el sartén y cocínalos por 4-5 minutos.

8.     Retira el sartén del fuego y sirve el pescado + su salsa sobre el puré de coliflor. Decóralo con perejil y disfrútalo!