Herb Crusted Fish

When I think of herb crusted fish I picture all those fancy restaurants serving up the fish in beautiful platters. The music in the background plays softly to add to the ambience, and helps you digest your food.  The faint chatter of patrons seems like a background noise amidst the click, clinking of fork and knives quietly knocking porcelain; and glasses toasting in some celebration.  

All this makes the evening of fine dining at the restaurant something quite memorable; one to be indelibly etched in your mind for years to come. Everything in a restaurant always contributes to “the perfect meal”.

(ripping scratching sound of needle on vinyl record)… Putting ambience aside, it is possible to spend a few hundred dollars extra on a simple dish you could prepare at home.  Look at the restaurant recipes a bit closely and you will see what you're really getting is very simple. 

However, a simple meal does not mean easy to cook because, if you don't try to simplify the method of cooking in your mind, the meal could be a real disaster.    Thus my little adage is ” if they can do it, so can I” ( but with patience and time).

And yes, I have time and patience – for the experiments are many but they always yield success.  That is why I have developed a respect for chefs and their craft, especially those who willingly share their own techniques and tips.  I have learnt a thing or two from so many of them. The techniques used by these chefs in preparing the dishes are par excellence no doubt, but (going back to the restaurant) I often wonder what I'm paying for.  Is it the ambience or the food?

That reminds me of a towel anecdote I was told many years ago….

“You can buy a towel at the side of the road from a clothes vendor.  You can go to a store and buy the same towel – of course you'll have to pay a little more.  Or, you can go to the mall and buy the same towel all wrapped up and placed in a box with a little bow – of course the price is almost double what you paid in the store.”  So, what are you paying for? Is it the towel or the box in which it came in? I'll leave you to answer that question.

 

Anyway I digress ( as I usually do) lol ….

A Herb Crusted Fish Adventure

My herb crusted fish adventure started with a question  (How did they do that? ) And, curious me rushed off into the virtual world to do some of my own rummaging; venturing out on my own journey of self discovery and taste exploration.

So what did I see? I saw a lot… from lightly seasoned with salt and black pepper; to some not really the norm in our cooking… It's weird for us to put mayonnaise on our fish; we just don't do that. There were mostly recipes with ingredients and explanations which I thought I could simplify.

Out went the ingredients I couldn't source locally or would have to pay extra to procure.  In came my trusty “pan side” of local ingredients, everybody and dey nenen could get in de market and supermarket…..

Some techniques or steps remained, but I decided on baking instead of pan frying to eliminate some extra fat which means extra calories….but then should I really care about calories? The solution is easy; just exercise or take a walk the next day lol

Other additions, like the panko bread crumbs, were just my own interpretation of a herb crusted fish recipe and what my Caribbean tongue likes …..And you know it likes a lot of things 😛

Anyway, here's Herb Crusted Fish Trinistyle…my style. Enjoy!

 

HERB CRUSTED FISH

3 slices swai fillets (or any other sliced fish of choice)
1 tbsp geera powder, divided
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 tbsp duck and goat curry powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pimento peppers, minced
1 chive, chopped
1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
10 leaves chadon beni, minced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

 

 

Wash fish with lime. Cut each slice in two. Season with 7 leaves chadon beni, 1/2 tsp salt or to taste,
pepper to taste, onion, garlic, pimento, chive, curry powder and 1/2 tbsp geera powder .
Set aside and let marinate at least 1 hour.

Note: The pepper will be for you to choose. It could either be raw pepper, pepper sauce or just simply, cayenne pepper.

Pour breadcrumbs into a bowl large enough for the slices.
Season with 1/2 tbsp geera, oregano, paprika and 3 leaves chadon beni and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well.

 

Pour olive oil in a small bowl. Brush one side of the fish slice with the olive oil…

 

 

…. then press down the fillet in the seasoned breadcrumb mixture.

 

Place wax paper on baking sheet or flat baking pan.
Brush oil on the wax paper then place fish crust side up.

Preheat oven at 400 degrees F then lower to 350 degrees F and bake for 15 mins. Serve warm.

 

And so goes my little adventure into herb crusted fish. Of course more recipes to come. Before I go I would like to say thank you to the many visitors and fans that leave comments for the recipes on the site. I read all of them and try to respond in a timely manner. So please keep those comments coming.

Ah gone 🙂