What's for Dinner? 5-23-2010: Spicy oven fried Perch

Tonight's adventure with fish involved my first time cooking perch. While its not too big of departure from the haddock and cod I grew up exposed to, I've mostly cooked salmon or tilapia.. I was looking for cod when I went to the fish counter at Rainbow, but perch was on sale, so perch became the fish for this dish. (tee hee that rhymed...)

My inspiration tonight was taken from the Pampered Chef Stoneware Inspirations cookbook that I received long before I was a consultant. I'd never made anything from it and decided it was time to dust it off and give a recipe a try. So all that talking and I haven't even said what I'm making.

Spicy Oven Fried Cod(Perch) 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Sauce:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 c thousand island dressing
• 1 clove/tsp minced garlic
• 1 green onion (I omitted as I didn't have one, but added a touch of onion powder to the sauce to replace)
• 1 dash cayenne pepper

1. Mix ingredients together
2. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour (to ensure flavors mix: especially if you use fresh garlic and onion)

Fish: -- about 4 small fillets

• 1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• dash of cayenne pepper
• dash of black pepper
• 1 egg

1. Beat egg in small bowl
2. Mix remaining ingredients in shallow dish
3. Dip fish in egg
4. Dip into bread crumb mixture covering both sides
5. Lightly spray pan with non stick cooking spray (I used Crisco Olive Oil Spray)
6. Lay breaded fish onto a stoneware baking sheet or nice quality baking sheet (cooking time may have to be adjusted)
7. Drizzle a couple drops lemon juice on each filet
8. Cook for approximately 15 minutes
9. Serve with chilled sauce on the side

VERDICT:


I was not overly impressed with this recipe, but I'm still sick so my taste may not be to full capacity. This recipe did get the fiance stamp of approval so I'll try to work it into the repertoire. It seemed to have subtle spice but may be lacking on other flavor. It was very reminiscent of my hometown fish fry with a spicier kick/twist.

The sides that I served with the fish did not fully complement the fish (a chicken flavored rice side and corn). A future suggestion would be roasted asparagus or roasted broccoli Parmesan and a salad may have done more to bring out the variety of flavor.