Oven Pan Fried Fish

My parents lived in Florida in their retirement years and Dad fished and fished and fished. I expect that was probably the big love of his life (outside of Mom of course). At any rate Mother came up with this method of cooking that was thought to be more heart healthy for the wonderful fresh bass he caught on the Kississamee River and it is really good. I smile when I think of them there.




I don't have any fresh bass but have found that by cutting the fish in small portions it works well on anything I have tried. Here is my version of the wonderful way they cooked it at their home on the river.

Here is what you will need:

1 lb. filleted fish portions
1 egg
2 T. water
4-5 C. corn flakes
salt
pepper
2-3 T. olive oil
heavy duty foil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with an edge all around it with foil turning any excess under. Distribute the oil evenly over the foil. Rinse and dry the fish and cut it into small portions. If the pieces are very thick I split them. An ideal size is 2"L. x 2"W. x 1/2-3/4" thick.

Using a fork beat the egg and water in a small bowl. Crumble the corn flakes to a fine crumb using a rolling pin and plastic bag or a food processor. Dip the fish into the egg and season, then roll in the corn flake crumbs. Place portions on the prepared tray and place in the center of the oven for 5 minutes. At the end of 5 minutes turn the fish. Depending on the size and density of the fish you need to watch how long to leave after you turn the fillets. I used cod and left for about 7 minutes. Thinner fish would be less and more dense or thicker fillets would need more. It is easy to tell as the fish becomes whiter and flakes when it is done.

You will have a nice crisp crust on the fish without all the frying a mess. You may also want to add additional seasoning to the crumb mixture and it works well should you try that too.