Roasted garlic, butter, mayonnaise and parmesan cheese team up for an unbeatable combo in this simple fish recipe adapted from "The Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook: Salmon, Crab, Oysters, and More" by Naomi Tomky.
The original recipe called for halibut, but I had haddock in the freezer, so that's what I used.
I was worried haddock might be a bit too fragile a substitute for halibut, but because this fish is not flipped or otherwise moved during cooking, it wasn't a problem.
Other fish that would work well include mahi-mahi, red snapper or striped bass.
As delicious as the fish is, I think my favorite part of this recipes was the bits of parmesan and garlic that melted off the filets and crisped in the iron skillet like little miniature fricos.
You'll roast a whole head of garlic — much more than you'll need — for this recipe, but the extra roasted cloves will keep refrigerated for several days, or freeze them for longer storage.
Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Fish
- 1 head garlic
- Vegetable or olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 skinless firm fish filets such as halibut, mahi-mahi, red snapper or haddock (about 4 ounces each)
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
- Lemon wedges, optional for serving
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut off the top of the head of garlic and brush off some of the outer paper skin, leaving just the individually wrapped cloves. On a piece of foil, pour the olive oil over the garlic, then wrap the foil around it and place it in the oven for 45 minutes, until it's completely soft. For the recipe, you'll only need three to five cloves from the head, but it's worth making a whole head to keep the rest for spreading on crusty bread or adding to salads.
Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
Heat the butter in an oven-safe pan (I used a cast-iron skillet) over low heat. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. When the butter is melted, add the filet and put it into the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The fish should be just cooked and opaque throughout.
While the fish cooks, squeeze three to five cloves of the roasted garlic from their papery skins into a small bowl. Using a fork, mash together the garlic, mayonnaise and parmesan.
Spread each filet generously with the garlic-parmesan-mayonnaise mixture. Switch the oven to a high broil and return the pan to the still-hot oven for 4 minutes under the broiler, until the top is almost entirely golden brown.
Remove and serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice, if desired.
Makes 2 servings.
Recipe adapted from "The Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook: Salmon, Crab, Oysters, and More" by Naomi Tomky.