Blackened Catfish - Claire Robinson

This is a Claire Robinson recipe from "5 Ingredient Fix" on Food TV. I've used it on tilapia and plan to use it on redfish as soon as we catch some. I leave out the salt, there's enough in the creole seasoning. And I sometimes have trouble finding fresh chives, so use green onions instead. Good served with wild rice or rice pilaf.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 4 fillets

Ingredients

• Compound Butter

• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1  tablespoon  creole seasoning
• 1  lemon, zested and juiced
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  freshly cracked black pepper
• 1  tablespoon  chopped chives

• Catfish

• 2  lemons, thinly sliced
•  compound butter (above)
• 4 (8 ounce)  fresh fresh skinless boneless catfish fillets
• 1⁄4 cup  creole seasoning
•  whole chives, for garnishing

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the butter, Creole spices, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped chives and set aside. The butter can be made ahead and chilled; bring to room temperature before using.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; preheat a large well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Line the bottom of a 9 by 11-inch baking dish with the lemon slices and dollop half of the compound butter evenly over the lemon.
4. Evenly coat both sides of each fish fillet with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning.
5. Working in batches if necessary, add the seasoned fillets to the hot skillet, and cook 2 minutes on each side to just toast and brown the seasoning.
6. With a spatula, carefully place the seared fish on top of the buttered lemon slices in the baking dish.
7. Bake until fish easily breaks apart with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes.
8. Immediately top each hot fillet with a spoonful of compound butter; transfer to serving plates and garnish with a few whole fresh chives crossed like an x over each fillet.