Just Another Baked Cod Recipe.

The other day I tried to fry up two one inch thick pieces of cod in a skillet.  A little olive oil over medium heat, seasoned with salt, black pepper and dill; lemon juice splashed over them at the last minute of cooking.  Sounds yummy, right?  Well, I don't know what went wrong, or maybe I do; while the fish did brown slightly on both sides and turn opaque, the middle did not cook through.  I don't think it was the cooking technique, it was because I used defrosted fish; unfortuately, frozen is all that is available for purchase around these parts.  Utah is a landlocked state, so if fish comes in, it was fresh at one time, but now is totally frozen.  Freezing fish changes its texture; even carefully defrosting and cooking, the outside may be flaky, but the deep inside tends to be rubbery.

That doesn't mean that I have given up entirely on fish; I still buy the frozen and still attempt to find ways to get it done right.  This post is another of those attempts; I needed to bake it a little longer than fresh fish, but the rubbery texture was almost...almost nonexistent.  So, while my recipe says to bake 25 - 30 minutes, that is based on defrosted fish; fresh fish should be about 10 minutes less in baking time.

Baked Cod with Squash

 Ingredients:

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup olive oil, divided in half
2 Tbsp Italian herbal mix, divided in half
2 tsp coarse sea salt, divided in half
1 tsp garlic powder
2 (6 oz) cod fillets, one inch thick, bones and skin removed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
 

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a 1 and 1/2 quart glass baking dish, spread the squash slices over the bottom.  Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil over the slices; sprinkle one tablespoon of the herbal mix, one teaspoon of sea salt and the one teaspoon of garlic powder over them.

 

Lay the cod fillets (skin side up) on top of the squash; drizzle with remaining olive oil; sprinkle remaining herbal mix and sea salt; drizzle lemon juice over all.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes; until cod is opaque and flakes easily.  Remove one fillet and portion of squash to plate; spoon liquid from baking dish over all.

 

Makes 2 servings.

 

Mary Cokenour

Simply Bake Fish is Simply Yum!

Gorton's Simply Bake Fish

I am a fan of the Gorton's brand of seafood products, so trying out their new Simply Bake items was a given.  The version I sampled was the Tilapia in Signature Seasoning. 

Even the cooking instructions are easy; preheat the oven to 350F; place sealed foil packet (window side up) onto baking sheet; 25 to 30 minutes and eat!  The sauce that cooks with the fish is plentiful; enough to go over a portion of rice or steamed vegetables to give them a boost of flavor.  The packet does puff up during the baking process, so be careful when opening it as very hot steam is released.

So how did it taste?  The fish was moist, tender, flaky...simply, perfectly cooked; it took a lot of will power not to put the other one (two come in the box) in the oven, bake it and eat that too!  The sauce had a mild kick to it, but the overall flavor was simply delicious with the herbs; not too runny, not too thick, just right in texture.  Gorton's named this product correctly with "Simply Bake"; and when buying fresh fish is near to impossible where I live, this product is perfect for a fish lover like myself.

This must be one of the shortest product reviews I've done yet, but all I can truly say is, if you enjoy seafood as a meal, buy Gorton's Simply Bake.

Mary Cokenour

Baked Fish can still be Breaded.

I was remembering all the times I used to visit the Meadowbrook Farmers' Market in Leola, PA; buying fresh made country sausages, shoofly pie and cheeses.  Downstairs were the old horse stables where vendors sold antiques and used books.  Sometime in the 1990's, a fire razed the entire structure and we locals were in total shock.  The owner rebuilt, but turned it into a conference center with small shops lining one side of the parking area.  It was no longer the farmers' market, it was just another shopping center as far as we were all concerned.

Another memory of the market was buying lunch at a stall where they sold fresh fish, but also a most delicious grilled blue fish sandwich.  It was grilled in butter with a light crumb topping and I still haven't found any other place that can imitate it.  I've tried myself, but still haven't perfected it either.  However, with trial and error, I was able to come up with a baked fish recipe that, while not exactly what I remember, does hit that sweet spot of memory, if just a pinch.

While you can used store bought dried bread crumbs, with or without seasoning; grating up a stale loaf of bread gives a fresher taste. Depending on how dry the bread has become gives an idea of how fast it will toast during the baking process.

 

Baked Fish with Crumb Topping

Ingredients:

 

6 fillets (6 oz each, 3/4 to 1 inch thick) firm fleshed white fish such as cold or haddock, skin and bones removed
Salt
Ground black pepper
5 Tbsp softened butter
1 small shallot, diced
1 ½ cups bread crumbs
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed, dried thyme leaves*
1 tsp crushed, dried parsley*

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450F; grease a 3 quart baking dish with two tablespoons of butter. Lightly sprinkle salt and black pepper on both sides of the fish; lay fish skin side down into baking dish. If fish has a thin section (tail end), fold under to give even thickness.

In a small skillet, medium-high heat, sauté shallot in remaining butter for three minutes. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs, garlic powder, thyme, parsley, and shallot until bread crumbs are thoroughly moistened.

Press mixture onto top of fish fillets; bake for 15-20 minutes until fish is no longer translucent and firm to touch.

Makes 6 servings.

*Options: replace with Italian herbal mixture

Mary Cokenour