Recipe: Crispy Baked Cod with Dill over Lemon- Garlic Spinach

Tonight we're having simple baked cod and I satisfy my yen for a steakhouse side by serving the fish over lemon-garlic spinach; the lemon-garlic sauce for the fish will work overtime to season the spinach.

Yield: 3-4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: varies considerably according to cost of cod

Ingredients

• 4 (6-8 ounce) pieces cod fillets
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus extra wedges for garnish
• 2 tablespoons chopped dil?l
• 6 tablespoons panko, Japanese bread flakes or unseasoned bread crumbs
• 12-14 (12 ounces) cups packed fresh spinach, woody stems removed, washed and spun dry
• Paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450?.
2. Brush both sides of fish fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Lightly season one side of fillet with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Arrange fillets on a foil-lined baking sheet.?
3. In a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, melt butter and remaining 2 tablespoons oil; stir in garlic and cook 3 minutes or until fragrant. Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice and dill. Spread 1 teaspoon of butter-dill mixture over each fish fillet, leaving enough of the butter-dill mixture in pan to sauté spinach.
4. Divide and sprinkle with fillets completely and evenly with panko or bread crumbs.?
5. Bake fish, on upper-middle rack of oven, until just cooked through, 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet. Fish should flake easily with a fork when done. After 10 minutes, check to see if bread crumbs are browning. If not, remove fish from oven, move oven rack to top and raise heat to broil. Broil fish an additional minute or two until top is crispy and golden brown.
6. While fish is baking, reheat butter over medium heat and sauté spinach, in batches if necessary, with a pinch of salt until wilted and vibrant green.
6. Divide and center spinach on individual plates or one large platter. Lightly dust cod with paprika and place cod fillet on the center of spinach. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

 This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on July 7, 2010.