If you’re hooked on fish, or would like to be, chances are you welcome fresh new ways to prepare it.
Here’s a fish-cooking method worth trying: Oven “frying.” It delivers the taste appeal of deep-fat frying, but with less fat, although the fat content varies considerably from recipe to recipe.
The trick is to create a seasoned breading that adds crunch and flavor and helps keep the fish moist and succulent while it bakes. The baking temperature is high and the baking time relatively brief, just long enough to thoroughly cook the fish.
Bread crumbs form the base for the breadings in the following recipes, although one uses cornmeal as well. In most cases, the breading is held together with non-fat yogurt or non-fat sour cream, plus egg whites or a whole egg.
Assorted seasonings, plus the different kinds of fish, give lively and distinctive character to each recipe. In oven-crisped fish and chips, the breading is flavored with ground red pepper, cumin, garlic powder and paprika.
Hot pepper sauce, chopped lime, green onions and cilantro enliven the scallops’ Jamaican tartar sauce, while the breading for oven-fried cod takes on the flavors of onion powder, garlic powder and paprika.
In oven-fried Dijon tuna with double-mustard tartar sauce, the taste-tingling sauce delivers a splash of flavor with Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, lime juice and capers. The tuna’s breading, meanwhile, holds its own with mustard, paprika, pepper and lime juice.
If fat is a concern, you’ll want to check the recipes’ nutritional data. Fat content varies from only 7 grams per serving in the cod recipes to 17 grams per serving in the tuna preparation.
OVEN-FRIED COD
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons low-fat milk
1 egg, or 2 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg substitute
3 tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt or non-fat sour cream substitute
1/4 teaspoon each: onion powder, garlic powder, salt
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/3 pounds cod fillet, cut into 4 pieces
4 teaspoons margarine, melted
Lemon wedges
1. Heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk together the milk, egg, yogurt, onion and garlic powders and salt; pour onto a plate.
2. Combine the seasoned bread crumbs and paprika; spread onto a plate. Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray.
3. Dip the cod pieces into the egg mixture; then coat liberally with the bread crumbs. Put onto the baking sheet and drizzle with the melted margarine. Bake until fish almost flakes, about 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories….325 Fat……………7 g Cholesterol…..165 mg
Sodium…760 mg Carbohydrates….12 g Protein………..50 g
OVEN-FRIED SCALLOPS WITH JAMAICAN TARTAR SAUCE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 10 to 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from “The Health-Lover’s Guide to Super Seafood” by Tom Ney.
Tartar sauce:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons peeled, finely chopped lime sections
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced cilantro or parsley
1 rib celery, minced
Scallops:
1 egg, or 2 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons non-fat yogurt
1/4 teaspoon each: hot pepper sauce, salt
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup white cornmeal, or fine yellow cornmeal
Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/3 pounds large scallops, patted dry with paper towels
2 teaspoons margarine, melted
1. For tartar sauce, combine mayonnaise, pepper sauce, chopped lime, green onions, cilantro or parsley and celery. Refrigerate for 1 hour to blend the flavors.
2. For scallops, heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk together egg or egg whites, yogurt, pepper sauce, salt; pour onto a plate. Combine the bread crumbs and cornmeal and spread on a second plate.
3. Spray a shallow baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Dip the scallops in the egg mixture, and then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange in the baking pan and drizzle with the melted margarine. Bake 8 minutes.
4. Remove the scallops from the oven and turn the oven to broil. When hot, put scallops on top rack and broil until golden and cooked through. Serve with the tartar sauce.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…..395 Fat……………16 g Cholesterol…..115 mg
Sodium….790 mg Carbohydrates…..34 g Protein………..27 g
OVEN-CRISPED FISH AND CHIPS
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from “The Health-Lover’s Guide to Super Seafood” by Tom Ney.
Potatoes:
Vegetable cooking spray
4 medium white potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon each: paprika, ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fish:
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon each: garlic powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper
1 egg, or 2 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup low-fat or skim milk
1 1/3 pounds cod fillet, cut into 4 serving pieces
2 teaspoons margarine, melted
Lemon wedges
1. For potatoes, heat oven to 475 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or broiling pan with vegetable cooking spray.
2. Do not peel the potatoes; cut each into 8 wedges. Put into a large bowl, adding the olive oil, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir well until the potatoes are evenly coated. Put into a baking pan in a single layer. Stagger the oven racks so that one rack is in the upper third of the oven. Bake potatoes 10 minutes on the upper rack.
3. For fish, combine the bread crumbs with the paprika, garlic powder, cumin and cayenne; spread on a plate.
4. Whisk together the egg or egg whites and milk; pour onto a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the egg, and then in the crumbs, coating well. Place in the baking pan and drizzle each piece with the melted margarine.
5. Stir the potatoes and transfer pan to the lower rack; place the fish on the upper rack and continue baking until the fish tests done and the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…..605 Fat……………13 g Cholesterol…..185 mg
Sodium….440 mg Carbohydrates…..58 g Protein………..63 g
OVEN-FRIED DIJON TUNA WITH DOUBLE-MUSTARD TARTAR SAUCE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Tartar sauce:
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup low-fat or non-fat plain yogurt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons grainy mustard
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon drained capers
2 tablespoons minced celery
Fish:
Vegetable cooking spray
1 egg, or 2 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 pounds tuna steaks
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons margarine
Lime wedges
1. For tartar sauce, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon and grainy mustards, lime juice, capers and celery. Stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. For fish, heat oven to 475 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or broiling pan with vegetable cooking spray.
3. Whisk together the egg, mustard and lime juice; pour onto a plate. Combine the bread crumbs, dry mustard and paprika; spread onto a plate.
4. Remove the skin from the tuna. Cut into 1-inch-wide sticks. Dredge the fish pieces in the egg, and then in the crumbs, coating well. Place on the baking pan and drizzle each piece with the melted margarine.
5. Bake about 10 minutes. Cut into the center of a piece of fish to test for doneness. Serve with the tartar sauce and lime wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…..335 Fat……………17 g Cholesterol1…..15 mg
Sodium….500 mg Carbohydrates……9 g Protein………..35 g
