Mahi Mahi with Pesto and Crispy Breadcrumbs. Looks delicious, right? It really, really is. Flaky, juicy, crispy. And best of all, eaaaaasy.
Most of the flavor credit in this dish goes to the pesto. Homemade pesto is a staple you absolutely need to have in your repertoire. It’s incredibly versatile and can be used as a sauce/topping for pasta, bruschetta, or pizza, whisked into a salad dressing, or smeared on a sandwich for a face-smacking blast of flavor. It’s also one of the simplest sauces to make: no cooking, no fuss: just blitzing ingredients in a food processor.
As is the case with most sauces, homemade is the way to go here. Commercial pestos often use cheap oils such as canola and end up tasting flat and “off.” Plus, when you make it yourself you can gleefully modify with whatever you have on hand: walnuts instead of pine nuts, asiago instead of parmesan, even sneaking a little kale in there for an invisible nutritional boost.
Once your pesto’s made, all you do is spread it thickly on the fish fillets, then sprinkle on some breadcrumbs. You can use any breadcrumbs you like, but I like the crunch of panko, a particularly crispy, flaky type of crumb.
Then pop it in the oven for 15 minutes, serve with some potatoes and something green, and dig in. Weeknight dinner: solved.
Even your pickiest teenagers may approve (mine did).
Mahi-Mahi with Pesto and Crispy Breadcrumbs
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Moist, flaky, and packed with flavor, Mahi-Mahi with Pesto and Crispy Breadcrumbs is quick and easy enough to pull off on a busy weeknight.
Ingredients
6 mahi-mahi fillets
3/4 – 1 cup pesto (see recipe, below)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
olive oil, for drizzling
PESTO
5-oz container of fresh basil
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts), lightly toasted
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Heat your oven to 425 degrees and drizzle the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with olive oil.
Make the pesto: stem the basil and place it in the bowl of a food processor with the garlic, toasted nuts, and cheese. Blitz until the mixture is pureed, then with the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the bowl if needed, until the sauce is thick and uniform. Stir in the salt, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed.
Place the mahi-mahi fillets in the prepared baking dish and coat each with a couple generous spoonfuls of pesto, spreading to fully cover the surface of each fillet. Sprinkle a tablespoon of breadcrumbs over each fillet, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, until fish is cooked through and flaky.
Serve hot.
I used French’s onion rkngs in plave of the bresd crumbs. It was a very good substitute.