Grab fresh cod for a tasty dinner your kids will love
The secret to success with this dish is a low-temperature oven (set to just 300 degrees) that ensures the fish cooks slowly without drying out. Crispy, buttery, garlicky panko bread crumbs get a head start in a skillet, so they’re golden brown when the fish comes out of the oven. Finally, a mayonnaise and egg yolk “glue” adds rich flavor and helps the crumb topping stay put. Even kids who don’t usually like fish will love this dish.
CRISPY BAKED COD
Makes: 4 servings
Vegetable oil spray
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges
4 (6 -ounce) skinless cod fillets, 1 to 1 ½ inches thick
1 . Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 3 0 0 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a cooling rack inside the baking sheet. Spray rack with vegetable oil spray.
2 . In a 1 2 -inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add panko, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often with rubber spatula, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
3 . Transfer panko mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and let cool for 1 0 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, egg yolk and lemon zest.
4. Use paper towels to pat fish dry. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over top of each fillet.
5 . Working with 1 fillet at a time, coat the top of each fillet with panko mixture. Place fillets, crumb-side up, on greased rack in the baking sheet.
6 . Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until fish registers 1 4 5 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 3 0 to 4 0 minutes.
7 . Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Place the baking sheet on a second cooling rack. Serve fish with lemon wedges.