Pecan-crusted cod with lemon-chive sauce

Fast recipe delivers big flavour!

I love cooking and eating cod because it’s such a versatile, mild-flavoured fish, not to mention being crammed with all sorts of nutritional goodness. I grew up eating it coated in cracker crumbs and panfried; while I still enjoy fish fillets prepared that way, sometimes I just crave a little more flavour. This recipe delivers taste in a big way – and it takes less than 20 minutes to make!

Ingredients

• 2 cod fillets
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) very finely chopped pecans (you can do this in a food processor)
• 1 cup (250 mL) Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) Dijon
• salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

Lemon-chive sauce

• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) white wine
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) whipping (35%) cream
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) cornstarch, dissolved in 1 teaspoon (5 mL) water
• 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely chopped chives
• salt and pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 425F. Place a large, heavy-duty, oven-safe skillet (cast iron is ideal) in the oven to get hot while oven preheats.
• Dry the cod fillets with paper towel and set aside.
• Combine the chopped pecans and panko in a pie plate or other shallow dish.
• In a second shallow dish, beat egg and Dijon together till smooth. Add about a half teaspoon (2.5 mL) of freshly ground black pepper and a quarter teaspoon (1.25 mL) of salt.
• Add the oil to the skillet to heat in the oven while you coat the fish.
• Dip the fillets in the egg mixture then dip them in pecan-panko mixture so both sides are well-coated.
• Place the coated fillets in the hot skillet and return it to the oven.
• After 5 minutes, carefully turn the fillets over. Cook another 5 – 7 minutes or until internal temperature of the thickest part of the fillets is 160F.
• While fish is cooking, make lemon-chive sauce. Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add shallot and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add white wine and cook until reduced by half (about 2 minutes).
• Add cream, cornstarch mixture, lemon zest and juice. Cook 2 minutes.
• Add butter and chives, plus salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm on low heat.
• Once fillets are cooked and plated, top with a generous amount of lemon-chive sauce.

Serves 2.