Sole Train

I am all about cooking healthy for my family. Snacking healthy for me? Well, that's a totally different subject and the reason my jeans keep shrinking but our meals are pretty balanced. Recently we've decided to incorporate more fish into our diet. It's fast, often easy and super good for us. However, around these parts it can be pricey.

So, while we all love salmon we are looking for a cheaper fish. So I found a box of frozen sole fillets on sale.

It almost killed us.

We finished the blasted box the other night and I may or may not done a wee cartwheel in the kitchen. Man that stuff can be nasty. The name of the game became "find ways to mask the taste of the sole."

We tried homemade sole nuggets. Meh. We much much preferred cod nuggets. Which my kids would ask for by name. This horrifies my fish-hating sister to no end who has suggested that she would rather eat snot nuggets. I'd really like to take her up on that some day.

Then came the seafood and pasta casserole, also known as the nastiest thing I have ever cooked in my life. Just mentioning it can cause Way Cooler to gag. I then buried the box in my freezer for a few weeks and we splurged on salmon just to remind us that some fish is worth eating.

But then I was filling my freezer with pre-cooked meals and the box re-surfaced. So I bit the bullet and found a recipe that sufficiently masked the taste. This would be perfect for any reluctant fish eater as the topping is really really good and basically hides the fact that one is eating fish. It can be used with any firm fish although for the love of all things that are good do not do this with salmon. Salmon deserves to shine all by it's perfect self.

The following recipe was adapted from Light and Tasty December 2007

Dijon Crusted Fish

3 Tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip)

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (divided)

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1 tsp dijon mustard

4 fish fillets

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tsp butter or margarine (melted)

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp cheese, lemon juice, and mustard. Place fillets on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over fillets.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, butter and remaining parmesan cheese; sprinkle over fillets. Bake at 425 for 13-18 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Serve to your skeptical fish eater and watch them smile.