I was feeling very nostalgic about the beautiful fish that I used to get in the U.K. the other day and so I picked up myself some frozen Wild Pacific Cod at the grocery store. When I lived in England I used to be able to get the most beautiful Icelandic wild cod. It was quite simply lovely.
Cod is my favorite of all the fishes and in the U.K, is it the fish of choice at most fish and chips places. Mild flavored and almost sweet, it lends itself beautifully to being coated in a batter and fried.
Here in Nova Scotia, most people like Haddock these days, with the cod fisheries having been overfished, its not as available these days and can be expensive. I was longing for it however and when I spied this at the shops, I couldn't resist picking some up.
I had seen a really simple low carb, keto friendly recipe online at a page called That Low Carb Life. It called for only a few ingredients and the fish looked beautifully cooked. As a diabetic I need to be eating low carb meals as much as possible. I need to choose my carbs very carefully.
This looked lovely and was low carb. If you are doing a keto diet it would be proper nice for that as well. You could serve it with a simple assortment of vegetables.
Easy to prepare, low carb and ready in fifteen minutes. Perfectly cooked and delicious! You really can't ask for much more than that!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PARMESAN CRUSTED BAKED COD
A few really simple ingredients and not a lot of time!
- 2 thick cod loins (about 5 ounces/142g each)
- 1 medium free range egg, beaten
- 4 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (I used regular sweet paprika)
- 1/4 tsp crushed chili flakes
- salt and black pepper to taste (I did not use any salt)
- Lemon wedges to serve
My pieces of fish were a bit smaller. I had bought them frozen at the fish counter in the store. In the bag were about 6 pieces of cod, all the size of what you see in the photograph.
Grate your own Parmesan if you can get a whole piece to grated. Its much nicer. Don't grate it too fine, but also not too coarse. I had bought some store grated fresh parmesan at the deli counter and that was just the perfect consistency.
True confession here, I am not overly fond of smoked paprika and can only tolerate it in small quantities. It reminds me too much of Spanish Chorizo and I really dislike Spanish Chorizo if I am being really honest. To me it tastes like the smell of sweaty feet and so I just used plain sweet paprika. Just to give a bit of color.
I forgot to put the lemon wedges out for my photographs, but a squeeze of lemon is really nice over this.
HOW TO MAKE PARMESAN CRUSTED COD
Nothing could be simpler. No frying involved. I am sure you could also cook this in an air fryer if you wanted to, but I am not sure on the timings for that as I haven't done so and I wouldn't like to make any recommendations I am not sure of!
Preheat the oven to 425*F/230*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a baking sheet, or line with some baking parchment, or a small baking dish large enough to hold both cod fillets in a single layer.
Put the beaten egg in one shallow bowl. Put the cheese and spices in another shallow bowl and mix well together.
Dip the cod pieces one at a time into the beaten egg, coating them well and letting any excess drip off.
Dip the cod pieces one at a time into the cheese mixture, turning them to coat them completely in the mixture, and patting lightly to help it adhere. Place into/onto the prepared baking dish/sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cod is golden brown and it flakes easily when prodded gently with the tines of a fork.
Remove from the oven and serve warm with some lemon wedges for squeezing over the fish. (Yes, I did forget to put the lemon on the plate to take my photos!)
HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR FISH IS DONE
There is nothing worse than a dried out piece of fish that has been overcooked. Fish actually cooks relatively quicker than most other proteins and the thinner your piece of fish the quicker it will cook.
Fish is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 145*F or 62,7*C.
When done your fish should flake easily with the tines of a fork and look opaque and no longer translucent. Just stick the tip of your fork into the fish at the thickest spot and give it a slight twist. If the fish flakes apart, it is done.
My fish came out tender and delicious. Perfectly cooked. The parmesan crust was loaded with bags of flavor and stayed nice and crisp. Altogether this was really tasty and such a simple make.
I served mine with fluffy mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. If you are doing low carb or keto you might want to skip the mashed potatoes and serve this with several vegetables and a salad or some cauliflower rice!
I love fish and wish that I could afford to eat it much more often than I do. When I do cook it, I like to give it the special treatment! Here are a few other ways that I like to enjoy it! You might enjoy them too!
TOMATO AND HERB SAUCED ALASKAN BLACK COD - Fish and tomatoes are a beautiful flavor combination, especially when you add some herbs into the mix. This recipe is simple, using simple fresh ingredients, put together in a simple way, but with gorgeous results. So gorgeous that I would serve it to company.
LOW CARB FISH PIES - Deliciously low carb with pieces of smoked haddock, haddock loin, cod loins and some king prawns in a lush creamy sauce, tucked beneath a phyllo pastry crust. Low carb and delicious. A special meal sized just for two but easily multiplied to feed more.
Yield: 2 servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner
Parmesan Crusted Cod
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 17 MinGolden brown on the outside, deliciously perfectly cooked cod. Ready and on your plate in about 15 minutes tops! Quick, easy, delicious. What more could you ask for? Low carb and Keto friendly.Ingredients
- 2 thick cod loins (my pieces were smaller) (about 5 ounces/142g each)
- 1 medium free range egg, beaten
- 4 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (I used regular sweet paprika)
- 1/4 tsp crushed chili flakes
- salt and black pepper to taste (I did not use any salt)
- Lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425*F/230*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a baking sheet, or line with some baking parchment, or a small baking dish large enough to hold both cod fillets in a single layer.
- Put the beaten egg in one shallow bowl. Put the cheese and spices in another shallow bowl and mix well together.
- Dip the cod pieces one at a time into the beaten egg, coating them well and letting any excess drip off.
- Dip the cod pieces one at a time into the cheese mixture, turning them to coat them completely in the mixture, and patting lightly to help it adhere. Place into/onto the prepared baking dish/sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cod is golden brown and it flakes easily when prodded gently with the tines of a fork.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm with some lemon wedges for squeezing over the fish.
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