Crumbed Fish with Parsley and Lemon
Gremolata is an Italian mixture of parsley, lemon rind and garlic. This recipe uses the gremolata with breadcrumbs to make a tasty topping for fish. The crumbed fish is baked with tomatoes and zucchini and served with saffron mashed potatoes.
2 lemons
2⁄3 cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1⁄4 cup chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, crushed
pepper to taste
4 chunky pieces of skinless white fish fillet, about 130 g each
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
3 Italian tomatoes, quartered
1 large zucchini, thinly sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Saffron Mashed Potatoes
1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1⁄4 cup low-fat milk
pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Finely grate the rind and squeeze the juice from 1 of the lemons. Mix the rind with the breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic, and season with pepper.
- Place the fish fillets in a lightly oiled, large ovenproof dish. Spread the mustard evenly over the top of the fish, then sprinkle over the lemon juice. Arrange the tomatoes and zucchini around the fish. Cut the remaining lemon into 4 wedges and put these into the dish, too.
- Spoon the breadcrumb mixture over the fish and press down lightly. Drizzle with the olive oil. Bake the fish for 25 minutes or until it flakes easily and the topping is crisp.
- Meanwhile, to make the saffron mashed potatoes, place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and add the saffron. Cook the potatoes for 15–20 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes and mash with the milk. Season with pepper. Serve the crumbed fish with the saffron mashed potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini.
Crumbed fish with parsley and lemon variations: For a special occasion, bake the fish fillets in individual ovenproof dishes. Slice the tomatoes, and replace the zucchini with one red or yellow pepper, seeded and chopped. Place a piece of fish in each dish and arrange the sliced tomatoes on top. Scatter over the pepper and then the breadcrumb mixture, and bake for 20 minutes. Garnish with wedges of lemon. • If you want to make an oaty topping, you can replace a third of the breadcrumbs with rolled oats. You can also replace the lemon rind with orange rind and add some snipped fresh chives to the breadcrumb topping.
preparation time 20 mins
cooking time 25 mins
serves 4
PER SERVING
451 calories
42 g protein
14 g total fat
4 g saturated fat
125 mg cholesterol
38 g total carbohydrate
5 g sugars
7 g fibre
254 mg sodium
Tomatoes are full of healthy compounds, like vitamin C and carotenoids, which act as antioxidants and may protect against heart disease and cancer. When you cook tomatoes, the antioxidant lycopene becomes more readily available to the body; a small amount of oil, as in this recipe, is thought to help its absorption by the body.
