Catfish is versatile, affordable and delicious

Catfish is versatile, inexpensive, and if treated with the respect it deserves, delicious.

It can be baked, sautéed or deep-fried, and if you know what you are doing, the results will be great. It also pairs well with a variety of side dishes.

My favorite side dish to accompany catfish is a medley of chopped sweet potatoes, a jalapeno pepper or two, a chopped bell pepper and 4-5 chopped cloves of garlic.

Put it all in a Ziploc bag, add a good dollop of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and toss well.

Put the ingredients on a baking dish and bake at 400 f for 40 minutes. The catfish can be baked or sautéed. As always, serve at once.

By the way, do you want to learn how to make a great gumbo? Check out the from-scratch class Kim Wilson and I are teaching at the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center on Saturday. http://www.lmdc.org/adult-cooking-classes