Panko-crusted fish and salad

This is one of Lizzy Hoo’s favourite meals to cook, that she developed when living solo. Pair it with any salad you like, but she loves the combination of the crumbed, golden fish with the rocket, pear and parmesan salad.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 - 2 cups panko breadcrumbs, as needed
• 4 white fish fillets (e.g. whiting)
• Olive oil, for shallow-frying
• 20 g butter
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

For the salad

• 60 g rocket leaves
• ½ pear, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup thinly shaved parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced

For the yoghurt sauce

• ½ cup Greek yoghurt
• 4 finely chopped cornichons (or pickles)
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• A pinch ground cumin

Instructions

1. To make the yoghurt sauce, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside until needed.
   
2. To crumb the fish, lay out three wide, shallow bowls to make a crumbing station. Combine the flour and parmesan cheese in the first bowl, whisk the egg in the second and place the panko breadcrumbs in the third. Dip the fish fillets into the flour, turning to coat, followed by the egg, and then the panko, pressing the crumbs onto the fish to ensure they are well coated. Place the crumbed fish onto a plate, ready to fry and repeat with the remaining fillets.
   
3. Heat a large frying pan with a generous drizzle of olive oil with the butter. When the butter is melted, shallow-fry the crumbed fish for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through. Transfer the cooked fish directly between two serving plates and repeat until all the fish is cooked.
   
4. To make the salad, in a large mixing bowl, combine the ingredients and toss gently to combine.
   
5. Serve the panko-crusted fish with the salad and a dollop of the yoghurt sauce. Serve with extra lemon wedges on the side.

Note

• The homemade yoghurt sauce can be replaced with store-bought tartare sauce, if you like!

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.