Fish Fillets: DIY and you'll know whats on 'em!

There is a particular flavor of prideful joy which I relish in knowing that my young children have learned to appreciate and savor fish. Maybe not all seafood (show them shells and they might get a little icked out.) Notwithstanding, if I can disguise the fish so that they don't really look too much like 'Nemo' anymore I can enjoy the sight of my 7, 5, and 3 year old progeny digging in with gusto!

There was even this one time when I ordered some fresh fillets from the deli in our local supermarket and Juda (age 3) insisted on carrying around the wrapped package throughout the rest of our shopping trip enthusiastically saying, 'Mommy, I love fish! It's my favorite!' Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart?!

Breaded Fish Fillets
serves 8-10

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs fresh fish fillets*
3-4 cups fresh bread crumbs
3 Tbsp parsley flakes
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup freshly milled flour
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Method:
Prepare your ingredients in three shallow bowls as follows: bowl one will be devoted to the freshly milled flour, bowl two to the milk and egg whisked together into a slight froth, and bowl three will contain the fresh bread crumbs, parsley flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Once your bowls are assembled you will want to prep a baking sheet or two with some olive oil and have this set to the side ready to receive your fillets. Now you are ready to rinse and pat dry your fillets. I also like to size them into about 4-5 oz portions at this time.**

With complete abandon towards the idea of keeping your hands clean... dust the fillets in flour, then finish with rolling in the bread crumb mixture. When the fish is fully coated lay flat on the prepared pan and get onto the next one. Once they are all laid out*** and ready to bake pop them into a 375 degree oven for 14 minutes remove and flip and cook for another 14 minutes. Sometimes depending on thickness of the fish you are working with this timing and heat will need to be adjusted. This would be about perfect for a thick 1" Cod fillet. I like to serve these breaded fish fillets with long grain Indian basmati rice and sauteed green veggies.

*For this recipe I usually try to choose a wild caught variety that will bake up flaky and white such as cod, haddock, tilapia or trout.

** Larger fish fillets can be cut into four or five portions. This allows the breading to cover more area and give the dish that individual feel when you are serving.

*** It can be also quite convenient to freeze your prepared fillets at this juncture for a quicker meal at a later date. To do this I lay them on a pan like so...

and then pop them into the freezer just like that for about 2-4hours after which point they are frozen solid and you may gently pry them off and put them into a gallon ziplock freezer bag. Good for up to a few months.