Cajun Panko-Crusted Baked Haddock

Haddock happens to be my gateway fish into the world of seafood. Growing up in a Northern Ontario community, predominantly Italian, meant little exposure to fresh seafood.  In turn, any experience I had eating seafood was usually a negative one.  It either tasted too “fishy”, or I’d chomp down on a bone, or the texture was off-putting.  So I generally stayed away from all things seafood (dumb, I know), until I moved to the East coast and basically had no choice but to eat it.

Now let me say, being a student of nutrition at the time, I knew how good fish was for me and I genuinely wanted to like it so I could include it in my diet. It wasn’t until I tried haddock for the first time that I actually thought I could give this whole seafood thing a real shot.  It is so light and flaky, very mildly flavoured, and is so versatile!  It can be cooked many different ways and used for all sorts of dishes.  Thanks to haddock I can now say I’ve broadened my seafood palate!  Not only that but I think being able to cook fish well is a right of passage to really becoming an East Coaster.

This week I wanted to make a quick dinner so I whipped up a Panko-crusted haddock.  I usually pan-fry my haddock but wanted to prepare a lighter version so I baked it and it was equally, if not more flavourful than the fried version. Check out the recipe below.  I paired this dish with a Greek yogurt based Creamy Coleslaw.  This dinner took 30 minutes to prepare and was oh so good!

Cajun Panko Crusted Baked Haddock

by Jessica Hawes, RD 

April-20-2016

This recipe is a lighter version of the always tasty pan-fried haddock. It has a perfect crust on the outside and is moist and flaky inside.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs, cut into 4-6oz portions Fresh haddock fillets
• dash salt and pepper, fresh ground
• 1 1/2 cups Whole wheat Panko bread crumbs
• 3 tbsp, finely chopped Fresh parsley (or you can use dried)
• 1/4 cup All purpose flour, whole wheat
• 2 Eggs, large
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning (see notes)
• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise
• Lemon wedges (optional, for serving)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray or brush lightly with oil.

2. On a large rimmed plate, or in a shallow bowl, combine the Panko crumbs and parsley.

3. Put the flour on another rimmed plate, or shallow bowl.

4. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, mayo, and cajun seasoning.

5. Dip a haddock piece into the flour to coat, then dip into the egg mixture to coat, and then roll in the panko mixture to coat completely. You may have to press crumbs onto fish so they adhere. Repeat with remaining pieces of fish.

6. Lay haddock pieces on your lined baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until haddock is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. It is easy to over cook this fish and cook times vary depending on thickness of filet, so better to check on it early and put back in oven if needed.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 4-6 servings

Notes
The Cajun seasoning I made consists of:

2 tbsp each of onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, and fresh ground pepper; 1 tbsp each of dried thyme and sea salt; 3 tsp cayenne pepper; 5 tbsp paprika.  Put all ingredients in an airtight container and shake before use.