perfidy

I'm lucky enough to live in a corner of New England where you can buy fresh cuts of fish literally right off the damn boat. As such, Goodwyfe Johno and I eat a lot of seafood. I got this recipe off a retired Italian Gloucesterman who used to work a swordboat and now drives for UPS. And yes, he did know the dudes from The Perfect Storm.

St. Peter’s Italian Cod

1 lb. cod fillet (regular or “captain’s cut”), 1 inch thick or more.
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 cup good breadcrumbs
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried marjoram
3 Tbsp finely grated very good Parmesan. Do NOT use that cardboard shit in the cardboard can.
2 tsp finely grated and chopped lemon zest
2-3 garlic cloved, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, herbs, parmesan, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper and stir well to mix completely. Turn out onto a plate.

Place olive oil in a soup plate or shallow bowl.

Rinse fish under cold water and pat dry. Cut into 3 or 4 equal pieces of equal thickness. If the little end piece is thin, fold the very end over to make it like the others.

Roll each piece of fish in olive oil and dredge well in breadcrumb mixture. Place in oiled baking dish, making sure to keep each piece at least ½ from its neighbor.

Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes. If fish is still well underdone, return to oven for 2 more minutes. Remove before it flakes easily—this means it is overdone. Let sit 3 minutes to allow for carryover cooking, and serve with lemon wedges. Good with maybe some green beans or broccoli and some boiled potatoes with parsley and butter. Also good with a site of spaghetti. Or gnocchi, but let's not get crazy here.

Notes: Serves 2, unless one of the 2 is a hulking 6’3’’ Buckethead. In that case, up the fish to 1 ½ lbs or even a little more, especially if little Sir John Christian of the Increasingly Sophisticated Palate will be dining.

You can of course use whatever white fish you want: cod, haddock, ocean catfish, dogfish, as long as it's fishsticky fish and not steaky fish.