Snapper Cakes With Spicy Pepper Sauce

8 ounces boneless, skinless snapper fillets -- cut in small

dice bay leaf 1 teaspoon creole seasoning

1 teaspoon basil leaves -- roughly chopped

1 teaspoon cilantro leaves -- chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon japanese bread crumbs*

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon garlic -- chopped

1 teaspoon red bell pepper

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon green onion -- chopped

1 tablespoon clarified butter** -- (up to 2)

Spicy Roasted Pepper Sauce

*Available at Japanese and some Asian markets.

Blanch snapper with bay leaf about 30 seconds in boiling water to cover. Combine Creole seasoning, basil, cilantro, salt and bread crumbs in large mixing bowl. Add mustard, lime juice, garlic, bell pepper, egg, egg yolk and green onion. Add snapper and mix; form into 16 (2-ounce) cakes and saut? in butter until golden brown. Serve with Spicy Roasted Pepper Sauce (see recipe).

**melt butter; skim off foam; pour off clear butter. Discard residue.

NOTE: : Ross, Kelly and I went to dinner at Solero, a new downtown Houston restaurant. It's in an old (1897) building. It is primarily a tapas restaurant, but there are both small and large portions, and customers make a meal off a selection of these. It's definitely not authentic Spanish, but rather a mix of Spanish and Latin American. The food was delicious. Several of the recipes were published in the Chronicle. This is the only one of them we tried, and it was fabulous!

From the Chronicle by Lou Parris on Aug 06, 1997