Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Fish baked in Puff pastry or if you want to be fancy, Fish en croute


I’ve found a new friend in Puff Pastry (I’m sure I’ll grow tired of it soon, but for now it’s fun creating new things with it)

Last night I wanted to do something different than the usual pan seared Tilapla that I usually do.  I like Tilapia because it’s not a fishy fish, it’s pretty inexpensive and it’s readily available at my local supermarket.

When I started making the Tilapia I found a recipe online that I still kinda hold close when making it, but I make my own variations.  I dust the fish in seasoned flour (whatever I feel like using, which always contains at least salt, pepper and red pepper flakes but has recently included old bay) and then I sautee it in a little bit of canola oil and finish it with lemon juice.

Sunday night I looked at the fish in the fridge and decided I wanted to do something different with it. So I took the fish and put it in a zippy bag and *gasp* I poured in some of the marinade that I was using for the chicken.. A chili lime marinade that is so incredibly good.

And I just left it in the fridge overnight.

Now, I know that you don’t usually marinate fish for that long. But I work full time so what was I gonna do? Take it out in the morning? No.. I was determined it was gonna taste good.

When I got home last night I turned on the oven to 350̊, rolled out the puff pastry and cut it into 3 even pieces then stretched it a bit more so that it could be neatly crimped around the fish like neat little packages, brushed the packets with egg wash and baked for 30 minutes.

While the fish was in the oven I washed and trimmed the stems off a bunch of spinach and gave it a rough chop. Minced a clove of garlic and then Poured some canola oil into my pan, I heated the garlic and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes over low heat just to release the oil, turned the heat up a bit and added the spinach a little at a time until it was wilted and just a tiny bit crispy.  I finished that with some sea salt and lemon juice.

Now y’all know my kid is not the picky type, but I was a little concerned that he wasn’t going to like the fish.. Well, boy was I wrong because he gobbled up every last bite.  It really was very good and the fish was perfect and looked so pretty. Sorry about the crappy Cell phone pic.. I hate it when I realize I made something that looks really good ad the battery in my camera is dead.


I love when I try something for dinner and it's a total success. :)

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