Baked Haddock with Buttery Cracker Topping

 

This recipe which I am sharing with you today is an adaptation from one I found the other day on the NYTimes site for  Cod. From the minute I saw it I knew it was something I wanted to make.

I am very lucky to have a fish processing plant about 5 minutes from my house. They often have freshly caught fish on site (as well as frozen fish). We LOVE fish in my family.   

 

 

I was telling my sister about the recipe and she called the fish plant to see if they had any fresh fish in today and they did. We decided to take a trip together to get some.  I love jaunts like this with my sister.

I printed the recipe out to share for her as I thought it would be something that she, Dan and my dad would love. On the way to the fish plant we were talking about the cracker crumbed fish my mother used to make for us when we were growing up, and how much we loved it.  

 

Mom would buy those block of frozen fish and cut them into 5 small rectangles and dip it into egg and cracker crumbs and fry it in butter.  We absolutely loved it.  It wasn't great fish, or even fresh fish, but it tasted fabulous the way mom did it.

 

I love sharing happy memories like that with my sister. I love my sister. We have always been the best of friends.  I am so blessed to be able to now live close to her!!  She is just a good, good, good person. 

 

I was really impressed with this haddock we got at the fish plant. Processed and packed today. It doesn't get much fresher than that. Not unless you are on the boat!

Haddock is a lovely fish. It has high content of protein and low amount of fat and is loaded with Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids which provide various benefits. 

It is said to slow down the formation of cancer as well as tumors. It also lowers the pain caused due to rheumatoid arthritis. 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BAKED HADDOCK WITH BUTTERY CRACKER TOPPING

I bet you might already have everything in the house.  Do note, this is a half batch recipe, sized to feed two people. If you need to feed more, simply double or triple the amounts. 

• 3/4 cup crushed (2 ounces/60g) buttery round crackers
• 2 1/2 TBS butter, melted
• 1 spring onion, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
• the juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, plus more lemon wedges to serve
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 2 fillets of haddock (or cod), each one weighing 6 ounce (170g) to 8 ounce (225g)
• fine ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

You can use Town House or Ritz crackers for this. They have a nice buttery flavor and texture. 

I used spring onions here but the original recipe used minced chives.  I didn't like the look of the chives at the store and to be honest they wanted $2.99 for a pack and I just didn't want to pay that price. 

I figured spring onions (scallions) would be just as good or even better.  I was right. They were an excellent substitute. Not too oniony, and nice and green. 

 

The original recipe also used minced fresh flat leaf parsley (1/4 cup, or 2 TBS for this size of the recipe.)  I also didn't like the look of the parsley.  

I have some really good quality flat leaf parsley flakes and used them instead with excellent results. 

 

HOW TO MAKE BAKED HADDOCK WITH BUTTERY CRACKER TOPPING

Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready an oven proof skillet large enough to hold both fillets.

Put the crackers into a bowl and crush. You want a mix of mostly fine and some coarse crumbs. Add 2 TBS of the melted butter, the spring onion, parsley, lemon zest, onion and garlic powders. Mix to combine well. 

 

Butter the skillet. Place the fillets in the skillet and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Pile the cracker crumbs on top. (Some crumbs will fall off, its inevitable.) 

Roast in the oven for 10 to 16 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. (About 10 minutes per inch of thickness. My fillets were thicker on one end than the other. I folded the thin end underneath the thicker end. They took about 13 minutes.) 

 

When done, the fish should flake easily and the juices should be bubbling and golden brown around the edges. Squeeze the lemon juice over top and serve immediately with more lemon wedges for squeezing on the side.

My fish was cooked to perfection.  The crumb topping was crisp and buttery and filled with flavor. 

This was one of the  most delicious fish dishes I have tasted in a while. I texted my sister to tell her I thought it was even better than fish and chips and I meant it!

I served it with some boiled red potatoes, carrots and brussels sprouts.  It was a fabulous meal.  I savored every mouthful.  I would serve this to company.  

The original recipe was based on a baked stuffed fish recipe from early New England, where the fish was rolled around a cracker filling.  I think piling it on top makes for an even more delicious dish as the crumbs get nice and crisp.    In short, this is fabulously tasty!! 

Baked Haddock with Buttery Cracker Topping

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min

I downsized this fabulous recipe which I found on the NY Times cooking site. The original recipe used cod. I subbed haddock. This is one of the most delicious fish recipes I have ever tried. Recipe feeds two, to feed more double the recipe amounts.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup crushed (2 ounces/60g) buttery round crackers
• 2 1/2 TBS butter, melted
• 1 spring onion, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
• the juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, plus more lemon wedges to serve
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 2 fillets of haddock (or cod), each one weighing 6 ounce (170g) to 8 ounce (225g)
• fine ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready an oven proof skillet large enough to hold both fillets.
2. Put the crackers into a bowl and crush. You want a mix of mostly fine and some coarse crumbs. Add 2 TBS of the melted butter, the spring onion, parsley, lemon zest, onion and garlic powders. Mix to combine well.
3. Butter the skillet. Place the fillets in the skillet and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Pile the cracker crumbs on top. (Some crumbs will fall off, its inevitable.)
4. Roast in the oven for 10 to 16 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. (About 10 minutes per inch of thickness. My fillets were thicker on one end than the other. I folded the thin end underneath the thicker end. They took about 13 minutes.)
5. The fish should flake easily and the juices should be bubbling and golden brown around the edges. Squeeze the lemon juice over top and serve immediately with more lemon wedges for squeezing on the side.

Did you make this recipe?

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