Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Ooo hey!

Look! At some point, while I wasn't paying attention, I reached 3,000 hits. You all are awesome. Thank you!!!

Panko & Mustard Haddock - Quick and Easy (and Healthy)!

So folks, remember how I said I was going to post more often? Heh. About that... I swear, I'm not consciously shirking by responsiblogities... Life gets in the way sometimes.

Anyhoo, yesterday, after a long day at work, I was to swing by the grocery store on the way home and pick up some salmon for dinner. Evidently, and I feel like I should have known this, salmon isn't in season right now, because it was like $14/pound, even for the farm-raised, non-organic type. Thus, I surveyed my options - and it being 10 minutes before the fish counter closed for the night, I surveyed them quickly:

Snapper? meh
Cod? cheap, but obviously previously frozen and didn't look especially good
Tilapia? might as well eat paper. flavorless. funless.
Catfish? too fatty/oily/stanky
Haddock?

Hmm... Haddock... An easy-to-love, mild, white ocean fish, this haddock was line-caught in Iceland, which is listed as sustainably-fished on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website (which I strongly encourage any seafood fans to check out)! And $5.99/lb? Perfect!

I purchased 4 fillets, grabbed some asparagus to roast as a side dish, and headed home. While at a red light, I called home and told the fam to find the broiler pan and turn the oven to 400 degrees. And then I cooked:

  • 4- 1/2lb haddock fillets
  • ~1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • Salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
  • 1 tsp rosemary leaves, chopped fine (fresh is best, dried is fine)
  • ~1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • ~2 Tbs Grated Parmesan cheese
  • Non-stick spray
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a broiler pan with tinfoil, and spray the top section with non-stick spray. NB: Whenever I bake fish, I prefer to do it on a broiler pan, so that the fish doesn't sit in liquid while it cooks.
  2. Pat the fish dry, and lay it skin-side-down on the broiler pan. Spread the mustard thinly over the fish. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and rosemary.
  3. Sprinkle Panko and Parmesan on fish, until the fillets are just covered. The mustard should make it stick to the fish. Spray the Panko-covered fish lightly with non-stick spray.
  4. Cook at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until the Panko is lightly browned. Serve hot.