Cooking with Kids: Tim Robbins's Crunchy Oven-Fried Snapper Fillets Recipe

Tim Robbins's Crunchy
Oven-Fried Snapper Fillets

Serves 4

Crushed cornflakes give these fillets a coarse, crunchy texture; for a softer coating, omit the cornflakes and increase the quantity of bread crumbs.

Cook fish about ten minutes per inch of thickness, but check at eight or nine minutes by poking a thin-bladed knife into the thickest part. If the interior is opaque and white, and the flesh has begun to flake, the fish is done. An instant-read thermometer should register 137 degrees F.

Make fish-and-chips without all the fuss and muss of frying by pairing these fillets with "Oven-Fried" Potatoes. You can use any firm, whitefish, such as orange roughy, dogfish, or halibut. Even softer fish like cod, haddock, and scrod will perform well since you don't have to turn them, flip them, or move them around much.

1-1/2 to 2pounds red snapper fillets
or any firm, white-fleshed fish that can be cut
into thick fillets or steaks, skin removed if possible
2 cups cornflakes
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray or mild-tasting vegetable oil.

2. Rinse the fillets under running water and carefully pat dry with paper towels. Cut into serving-size pieces.

3. Whir the cornflakes in a blender or food processor to make into crumbs or place in a sturdy plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. You should have about 1 cup of cornflake crumbs.

4. Mix the cornflake crumbs, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper together, and spread in a pie plate or shallow bowl.

5. Break the eggs into another shallow bowl and beat well.

6. Dip each fillet first into the egg and then into the crumbs. Pat gently to help make the crumbs stick.

7. Roast the fillets 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness.

from:
The Hole In The Wall Gang Cookbook
By Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner
A Fireside Original
Publication date: November 1998
Hardback, 112 pages, Price: $12.00
ISBN: 0-684-84843-0
Recipe reprinted by permission.