Easy and versatile baked fish can be adapted for nearly any dietary restrictions and comes together in under 30 minutes for a quick weeknight meal.
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Total Time:25 minutes
Yield:2 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the crust:
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds or slivered almonds
3 T grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup panko
Zest from 1/2 cup lemon
4 – 5 leaves of fresh basil or 1 t dried basil
2 T olive oil
For the fish:
2 6 to 8-ounce, 3/4 to 1″ thick fish fillets (cod, halibut, salmon or snapper)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
4 teaspoons of dijon mustard
3 T homemade or store-bought pesto (optional)
Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
For the crust:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a Mini-prep or full-size food processor, add almonds and pulse until coarsely chopped. Don’t whirl too much or you will get almond butter. Add parmesan cheese, panko, lemon zest and basil leaves. Pulse again to combine. Don’t over process. Add olive oil and pulse once or twice to incorporate. Set aside.
For the fish:
Dry fish thoroughly. Season with kosher salt and pepper and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. If there is skin on your fish, place the skin side down. Brush each fillet with 2 teaspoons of mustard. Press the crust mixture over the top of each fillet. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes (for 3/4″ to 1″ thick fish). Do not over bake or fish will be dry. If the crust is not toasted to your liking, you can broil it briefly to toast, but keep your eye on the fish checking every minute so it doesn’t burn.
Remove the fish from the oven, plate it and serve with lemon wedges and an optional dressing of pesto.
Notes
This recipe is very flexible for a variety of diets. If you have nut allergies skip the almonds and add a little more panko. If you have dairy allergies, skip the parmesan. If you have gluten issues, skip the panko or use gluten-free panko.
You may have extra crumb mixture. Hang on to it and use it to put over roasted vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cauliflower. when the vegetables are 3 minutes from being done, sprinkle with the leftover crumb mixture and finish in a hot 400 degree oven. Alternatively, you can broil, briefly to toast, just keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.