Dilly “Oven Fried” Perch with Dill Caper Tartar

Cathy's Garden Fresh Cooking Blog

Dilly “Oven Fried” Perch with Dill Caper Tartar

Written by Cathy on 24 June 2010

My husband grew up on Lake Erie with three brothers, a father and grandfather who all loved to fish. They’re naturally competitive so they entered fishing tournaments and have even won some. Now the nephews have grown up and fishing is in their blood. Needless to say we always have Lake Erie Perch in the freezer! Who doesn’t love a good ole fashion fish fry… but the calories? It’s fine to eat fried fish once in a while, but frying isn’t something I’m good at. When we do have all the family over for a fish fry, I enlist my Mom and sister-in-law Debra to do the frying, they pan fry the fish outside in a big pan on the side-burner on the grill. When I “fry” fish my way I do it in the oven, I think it tastes just as good and you can put in a whole baking sheet without having to stand at the stove and turn each piece with oil spattering. This past weekend I had my parents over to celebrate Father’s Day with a perch dinner. We all enjoyed the healthier “fish fry” along with my low fat tartar sauce. Mixing low fat yogurt in with the mayonnaise really cuts down on the fat and I added lots of fresh dill. After dinner we went to see an outdoor theatre production of Treasure Island at Schiller Park, it was fantastic. Of course I packed some goodies; brownies, spread with Nutella, sprinkled with coco nibs (purchased at Blue Turtle Tea and Spice) and toasted hazelnuts. Next time I will remember to pack some cold milk to go with the brownies. They were too die for!

Dilly “Oven Fried” Perch with Dill Caper Tarter

Dill Caper Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise

1/2 cup low fat yogurt

1/2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated onion

Pinch cayenne

1 Tablespoon capers

2 Tablespoon minced fresh dill

In a small bowl stir all ingredients. Refrigerate until needed, this can be made a day ahead.

Dilly Oven Fried Fish

1/2 cup panko crumbs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

Grated zest of one lemon-about 1 Tablespoon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne-or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt

1/3 cup minced fresh dill

1 egg

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling

1/4 cup milk

Salt and pepper

1 pound cleaned Lake Erie yellow perch

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a shallow bowl lightly beat egg; add olive oil, milk, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. On a sheet of wax paper combine panko, flour, cornmeal, lemon zest, cayenne, garlic salt and dill; mix well.

Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet, smear with fingers to completely coat pan. Dip fish in egg mixture, coat with crumbs (use the wax paper to help you coat the fish) and place on oiled baking sheet. Lightly spray or drizzle the top of fish with olive oil. I have a refillable cooking spray bottle that I keep filled with olive oil.

Bake the fish for 10 minutes, without turning, until it is brown and crisp and flakes easily with a fork. Depending on the size of the fish, may need more time for bigger filets. Serve immediately with caper dill sauce and lemon wedges.

*I had over a pound of fish and perch fillets are small, so I needed to make more crumbs. This recipe would work well with catfish, tilapia or any fish. Of course a thicker piece of fish will take longer to cook.