Recipe by Chef Travis Haugen, Southside Bistro, Anchorage

Makes 4 Servings

Time: 30 minutes

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons white miso paste
4 slices bacon, diced
½ cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Alaska Grown yellow summer squash, cut into small dice
1 cup Alaska Grown zucchini, cut into small dice
1 cup yellow corn, blanched
½ cup fresh Alaska Grown green peas, blanched
¼ cup Alaska Grown green onions or spring onions, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons neutral cooking oil (canola, soy, grapeseed or mild olive oil)
4 (5-to-6-ounce) fillets wild Alaska cod
2 tablespoons porcini powder, or ground dehydrated mushrooms, sifted
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

  1. Mix butter and miso paste together until well combined; set aside.
  2. Heat bacon in a large pan over medium-high heat until fat is rendered. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add mushrooms, squash, and zucchini to the rendered bacon fat; let brown slightly, without stirring. Add corn, peas and green onion and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Top with reserved crispy bacon. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. Keep warm while you prepare the fish.
  3. Add two tablespoons oil to one large sauté pan (or 4 tablespoons in one very large pan); heat over medium-high heat. Dust one side of each fish fillet with porcini powder. Place two fillets, porcini dust-side down, in each pan or 4 fillets in a larger one, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Be conservative if seasoning fish with salt; the miso tends to be salty.
  4. Sear until golden brown; reduce heat and flip fillets over. Add butter mixture to the pan; baste fish, using a large spoon, as the butter melts. Be careful not to burn miso, or overbrown the butter. Cook another minute or two until just cooked through. If pieces are thick, place pan in a 400-degree oven for a few minutes until cooked through.

To Serve: Divide corn and squash succotash evenly over 4 warm plates; top with cod and drizzle with the browned miso butter. Serve warm.