Coconut Almond Crusted Cod. Simple, yet bursting with tropical flavour!
Today's special guest for Seafood Week is my gal pal, Aly. This lady is one of the truest friends you could ever ask for. Aly is the one who talks me off the ledge when I get wired up. She is the one who sends me emails and links to brighten my day, and make me look at work from a different angle. She sends me inspiring articles or links to shopping sites, depending on my mood any given day. Every now and again I get the most amazing packages from Aly, some that blow my mind with how incredibly thoughtful they are. She's good people. I heart her in a big, bad way.
Aly blogs at Cooking in Stilettos. Her recipes amazing, tried and true, they work every time. You may remember Aly, she guest posted for me when I travelled out west to take my son to school a couple of years ago. She made a wicked good Harvest Bread. I actually made it for some guests last year, and they loved it.
I'll be meeting up with Aly in a couple of months. We're going to terrorize Miami together during Blogher Food. She'll be my roomie, that in itself says how much I trust and adore this woman. I never room with anyone because of my IBS. I barely like to room with my family, so it says a lot about Aly that I'm willing to subject her to my crazy IBS antics while travelling. We'll see if she still talks to me after it's all over. Love ya Aly!
So without further ado, please meet Aly of Cooking in Stilettos. You're going to love her as much as I do.
Heading To The Tropics With Coconut Almond Crusted Cod:
They say fish is good for you but, to be honest, I rarely cook fish at home. Why – well since I’m in full on confession mode, there are a few things that make me hesitate:
• The smell that permeates the household and lasts for what seems like days;
• The freshness of the fish – if you don’t use it the same day you bought it, sometimes the flavor just isn’t there;
• The strong likelihood it will be overcooked or undercooked – rarely is it “just right” thanks to my silly habit of “just one more minute”; and
• The complexity of the dish – too many ingredients can overcomplicate and overwhelm the dish.
So – keeping all of the above in mind, when it comes to cooking fish, I tend to apply the “keep it simple” factor. I stick to what I know and when I find a recipe that I can execute successfully, whenever a fish dish is needed or desired, that’s what I make.
When Kim invited peeps to play with their oceanic cravings, I decided to face my fear and find a fab recipe that I would make for family and friends and this Coconut Almond Crusted Cod from one of my fave chefs, Ingrid Hoffmann, is sheer perfection. Added bonus – it’s a bit healthy too and is featured in her latest collection of recipes that will have you looking fabulous for spring/summer – Latin d’Lite!
This recipe is so easy to make and I can pretty much guarantee that you might have the ingredients already in your pantry and fridge. All you need to do is pay a visit to your favorite fish guy and get the freshest cod you can. My guy at Whole Foods not only was able to portion it out for me, but made sure it was fresh, packing it in a bit of ice for the ride home.
Essentially, it’s whirring a few ingredients in a food processor, marinating the fish for a brief moment in a coconut milk bath, crusting it with a tropical coconut almond mix and baking it. How easy is that? 12 minutes later and you have a fish that will have you thinking of sandy beaches, cocktails in coconuts, palm trees and, if you are like me – a nice Choo wedge sandal to go with. Added bonus, the smells of coconut and toasty almonds waft through the kitchen taking you to a tropical state of mind.
Give this recipe a try next time you are craving some fish – I promise it will become a family favorite.
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Coconut Almond Crusted Cod
Ingredients
- Cooking Spray
- 1 cup of slivered almonds
- ½ cup of unsweetened coconut shreds
- Zest of one lime
- ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup of light coconut milk unsweetened
- Juice of one small lime
- Four 6-ounce cod filets
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a food processor, whirl together the coconut, almonds, a bit of lime zest, black pepper and cayenne pepper for about 10 – 15 seconds. Pour in a dish and set aside.
- In a baking dish, whisk together the light coconut milk and lime juice. Set aside.
- In a third baking dish (preferably a 9 x 13 or so), spray with the cooking spray.
- Take the cod, dry it a bit with paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
- Dip the cod filets in the coconut milk mixture, making sure that all sides are covered.
- Crust the cod on all sides with the coconut almond mixture and place in the prepared baking dish.
- Continue with the rest of the cod and, when the prepared cod filets are ready, lightly spray the tops with a bit of baking spray and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes. The topping should be browned and the fish should be opaque and lightly flake with a fork.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Thank you so much to Aly for guest posting for me today. I appreciate it, and you, so very much. I cannot wait to whoop it up with you in Miami. And by whoop it up I mean ordering room service in jammies and going to sleep by 9 pm. Good times!
To continue this week's theme of embarrassing myself with old fishing photos, here's another swell photo from my youth:
This is me with my older brother, Scott. This might have been the day I hooked him with a miscast line. Right in the hand. You're welcome bro!
One more just to be sure I've fully proven what dorks we were growing up:
I have no idea what I'm cooking but I suspect it's either fish, or something from a can. My older bro, Ken, appears to be eating a PB & J Sandwich. Sucker, more fish for me!
The Seafood Week fun continues tomorrow with another guest post from a friend of mine. My daughter, mini-me, and myself are allergic to shellfish so I'm lacking seafood recipes on my blog. I am thoroughly enjoying having my friends share all these great seafood recipes this week. It proves to be an interesting week.
I'm enjoying my time off. I'd like to pretend it's all home renovations, and getting stuff done. The reality is it's a whole lot of me lounging around in jammies eating junk food. What? When you're good at something you should do a lot of it. I'm embracing what I'm good at.
Make sure you swing by Aly's blog, Cooking in Stilettos. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Other Seafood Week Posts:
Movita Beaucoup's Lobster Pasta Salad
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Toodles and smoochies! xx
movita beaucoup
1. This cod looks deeeelightful!
2. So… you hired those actors for the entire week? The sets and costumes are amazing. It's like going back in time...
Kim Beaulieu
1. I must make this.
2. I have an in with a casting agent. And loads of dough to spend. This could go on all week.
Coco
Oh, KimBee, you speak my language!
Kim Beaulieu
Aly just blew me away with this. I love fish and I love coconut. This is the bomb.
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
Oh my! With the coconut doesn't it look like the perfect Easter/ Spring dish? I live in the Pacific NW. So Alaskan cod is easily gotten. This is such a lovely recipe. Simple and the ingredients do not overpower
the excellence of a piece of fresh fish.
Kim Beaulieu
It certainly does. I can't wait to try this one.
Vicki Bensinger
You had me at coconut! Just about anything with coconut thrills me. This recipe sounds Delish and the fact that it's dipped in coconut milk as well is a great idea. Thanks for sharing. I hope to meet you in Miami as well.
Kim Beaulieu
Me too. I just love coconut, it's so tasty.
That would be awesome to meet you. Have you booked your ticket yet Vicki?
Aggie
This looks delicious. I've been craving seafood lately, I love cod & coconut. What a great dish!
Kim Beaulieu
Aly really did an amazing job on this. I'm actually itching to try this one. I am allowed fish, but no shellfish. So this has to happen in my kitchen.
Dionne Baldwin
This cod looks delicious! And the coconut almond crust is very very tempting. I rarely cook fish because of that first reason. I'll have to make an effort to try it more often.
Kim Beaulieu
A great way to avoid the smell is to grill it. I do that often. Keeps the smell outside. Once it's cooked the smell is not bad at all. I am just dying to try this one. I love coconut.
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time
Oh my gosh, Aly and Kim. You've just made me drool all over my keyboard. That fish looks amazing. Kim, even if you couldn't eat fish, I'm sure this would make you want to try again.
Kim Beaulieu
I'm so lucky I can eat fish. I can't eat shellfish but fish is fair game. I want to try this one desperately. I adore coconut so I think this one is going to be perfect for me.
Paula - bell'alimento
Seafood week continues to be stellar!
Kim Beaulieu
I concur.
Rebecca {foodie with family}
I just happen to have a little cod hanging out in the freezer. I know what I'm doing with it now!
Kim Beaulieu
Don't you love it when a plan comes together...
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos
Kim - thank you so much for the kind words - y'all - this is a recipe to try. I didn't think it would be that fantastic but I should have known better - any recipe I have made from Ingrid's cookbook has turned out fabulously. Thanks again Kim for letting me work through these daggone irrational culinary fears 🙂 Can't wait to see you in sunny Miami! *starts singing Welcome to Miami*
Kim Beaulieu
You are most welcome my friend. Thank you so much for doing this for me. It meant the world to me.
I am hoping the doc gives the nod for Miami, I'm starting to get paranoid I may not be able to go. Which would about kill me. I'm so looking forward to it.
D Jackson
Just a quick (and probably silly) question from a cooking beginner. If you sprinkle the fish with salt before dipping in the milk, won't it just wash right off in the mixture?
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos
No question is ever silly - there will be some that cling to the fish when you season it. There are all these hidden cracks and crevices - you just never know. You can also season the coconut milk a tad too. Let me know how the recipe works out for you please 🙂