Cooking on deadline: Crispy Baked Cod With Greens

By J.M. Hirsch, Associated Press

Published January 6, 2009 at 3 p.m.

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Baked and breaded white fish is a great idea. It's healthy. It's easy.

Unfortunately, too often it's also tasteless. But there's an easy fix. This simple recipe uses a blend of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup as the glue with which to adhere a bread-crumb coating to cod or other fillets.

It also amplifies the flavor of the coating by combining crunchy panko (Japanese-style) bread crumbs with ground pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Parsley also is added, but more flavorful seasonings would be good, too. Try chili powder, cumin or Italian blends.

Want to lighten up this recipe? Substitute fat-free sour cream for the mayonnaise. If you do, consider adding a bit of onion powder or powdered garlic to the mixture to compensate for the flavor loss.

This recipe includes a quick lemony saute of greens with which to serve the fish. For a new take on a fried fish sandwich, consider serving the fish and greens wrapped in a flour tortilla or other flatbread.

If you'd like to continue the Asian theme of the panko, substitute sesame oil for the olive oil and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Or for a Mexican take, add a splash of hot sauce to the mayonnaise mixture, then substitute lime zest for the lemon. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Crispy Baked Cod With Greens

Serves 4

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 pound cod fillets (or other firm white fish)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

5 ounces baby spinach

Zest of 1 lemon

* Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

* In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. Set aside.

* In a food processor, combine the bread crumbs, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Pulse until finely chopped.

* Transfer the mixture to a second wide, shallow bowl. Set aside.

* Divide the cod fillets into 4 pieces.

* One at a time, dredge each piece first through the mayonnaise mixture, turning to coat both sides, then through the bread-crumb mixture, again turning to coat evenly.

* Arrange the fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until the fish is cooked and flakes easily.

* While the fish cooks, in a large skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the garlic and onion, then saute until the onion is tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach and saute until it just wilts, about 3 minutes.

* Remove the skillet from the heat and mix in the lemon zest.

* Divide the greens among 4 serving plates and top each serving with a piece of the baked cod.

Nutritional information per serving: 383 cal., 150 g fat (3 g sat.), 55 mg chol., 30 g carb., 29 g pro., 3 g fiber, mg sodium

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