I wasn’t feeling so hot this weekend, which continued into today, so with that in mind, I wanted to keep my eye on a simple and quick dinner, finding my answer in a Penzey’s magazine. It doesn’t get much easier than their reader-recipe for Panko Baked Cod, and it produced a keeper. Light, flaky with a still-crispy coating, it’s a perfect, healthy recipe for a weeknight dinner.
Not familiar with Panko? A Japanese bread crumb, it’s biggest advantage is that it stays crispy, as opposed to getting soggy like more traditional bread crumbs sometimes do. It used to be easiest to find in Asian markets, but now even Progresso has gotten in on the act and produces their own, so it’s a snap to find at your local grocery store amongst the other types of bread crumbs.
Panko Baked Cod
Recipe courtesy of Penzey’s Magazine
4 cod fillets, or other white fish (I used scrod, a bargain at $3.99/lb this week)
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
*I added a bit of seasoned salt to the mix as well
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
olive oil, enough to coat fillets (about 1 teaspoon per fillet worked well)
Preheat oven to 350. Combine bread crumbs, lemon pepper, paprika, (my addition of seasoned salt) and garlic. In a medium bowl, add olive oil and coat fish fillets well. Transfer fillets to bread crumb mixture, one at a time, and coat on both sides evenly. Place breaded fillets on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
I love panko, that stuff is great for chicken, pork chops, shrimp, whatever.
Hope you feel better soon.
Thank you for the heads up on the Progresso Panko.
I hope you feel better soon.
I love panko! I have been seeing lots of baked fish blog posts lately, and I have it on the menu for this week. Yours looks wonderful!
OOoooo, that fish looks great! DH caught some lake perch last weekend so I’m definitely going to try this. Hope you feel better soon Cate!
Val
I hoe you feel better! I’ve always wanted to try Panko but can’t find it. I’ll keep looking, though.
Hey Cate,
Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day! I have been dying to use Panko on something (anything!) after hearing so much about it from the entire food world. We have lots of fish sitting around, so I might give this a go!
This never browned for me. I had to turn on the broiler How does one get panko golden brown by just baking. Doesn’t seem to work for me.
Nancy, panko doesn’t get quite as brown as some other bread crumbs – definitely a little more on the golden end of the color spectrum. The big thing with it is that it retains its crunch much better than traditional bread crumbs. Hope that helps!