Sear-Roasted Haddock or Cod with Horseradish Aioli & Lemon-Zest Breadcrumbs

curious1

Well-known member
was really delicious and pretty easy. Really loved the aioli and bread crumb topping. the aioli would make a great sauce for fish. Funny about the parsley salad. I was a bit dubious and almost didn't make it. However, we really enjoyed it's fresh taste and it really went well with boiled new red potatoes as a side. I used haddock. Thickish pieces are best for this, I think. Recipe from Fine Cooking.

Sear-Roasted Haddock or Cod with Horseradish Aioli & Lemon-Zest Breadcrumbs

by Tom Douglas

Serves four.

For the lemon-zest breadcrumbs:

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs (from a rustic loaf)

1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the horseradish aioli:

5 Tbs. mayonnaise

2 tsp. prepared horseradish

3/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. tomato paste

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the fish:

3 Tbs. olive oil

4 thick skinless haddock or cod fillets, about 6 oz. each

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, washed and dried

1 lemon

About 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Heat the oven to 425°F.

Make the lemon-zest breadcrumbs: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until golden and crunchy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool. Stir in the lemon zest and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature.

Make the horseradish aioli: In a small bowl, mix the aioli ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate.

Sear-roast the fish: Heat the oil in a heavy 12-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. When the oil is shimmering hot, arrange the fillets evenly in the pan, skinned side up. Sear for about 2 minutes, without moving; then use a slotted metal spatula to lift a piece of fish and check the color. When the fillets are nicely browned, flip them and remove the pan from the heat.

Spread the seared side of each fillet with some of the aioli and then a layer of breadcrumbs. (You may or may not need all of the aïoli and crumbs.) Put the pan in the oven and roast until the fish is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes.

While the fish is roasting, put the parsley leaves in a small bowl; cut the lemon in half and squeeze some juice from one half over the parsley, to taste. Drizzle the parsley with enough extra-virgin olive oil to lightly coat the leaves, season with salt and pepper, and toss. The parsley should taste bright and lemony. Cut the remaining lemon half into four wedges.

When the fish is cooked, remove the pan from the oven and transfer the fillets to plates. Top each with some of the parsley salad and garnish with a lemon wedge.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/sear-roasted-fish-aioli-breadcrumbs.aspx

 
This sounds great, C. Do you recommend leaving the parsley leaves whole?...

I guess I'd want to coarse chop them a little, some of the parsley leaves I've been buying lately are just huge.

 
Pat, I had a huge bunch of parsley and picked out the smaller leaves. The larger ones, I

divided down into the 3 segments they come in, discarded all the stems. I did tear apart a couple of larger ones.

I will say I think the amount of oil to cook the bread crumbs is very generous. I put my bread crumbs on some towels to soak up the excess. Also, I made the crumbs in a food processor and they didn't come out very even in size. What's the best method for making fresh bread crumbs and should you discard the crust? This was a very chewy, coarse bread. The demi-baguettes from Costco, if you're familiar with them.

 
I make crumbs in the food processor as well and trim the crust

off first (unless a recipe specifies to leave crust on). I find it easiest to trim the crust with a serrated knife. Fresh crumbs don't tend to come out even in size so I sometimes process a little more to get what I'm looking for (though if the bread is too fresh it becomes a bit of a challenge). Thanks for the parsley info, can't wait to make this dish.

 
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