My husband and I recently went out to dinner at our local Carrabba's - I had just purchased a new dress and wanted to wear it out on the town. He had a gift card to Carrabba's, so off we went. Admittedly, I was over-dressed (the waitress even asked me where I was going that I needed to be all dressed up...um, here?), but hey, a date night is a date night.
For dinner I ordered their Hazelnut-Crusted Tilapia, with a lemon-butter sauce and fresh basil and tomatoes. The dish was very good, but lacked real crunch in the crust, and the toppings were far too few for the size filet presented.
Needless to say, that meal was the inspiration behind this almost-exactly-the-same dish. I used a combination of seasoned walnuts and panko for the topping, broiled until golden brown and crisp. Then I generously applied fresh basil, tomatoes and the light lemon-butter sauce, so every bite was the perfect balance of crispy, bright and clean.
 |
| The start of a great sauce! Here you can see I used an onion, even though below in the recipe I call for a shallot. The shallot is milder and sweeter, but in a crunch (like I was) a white or yellow onion will work. For the white wine, I used a sauvingnon blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. The Marlborough area is known world-wide for producing some of the best white wines; this 2011 Starborough was very good at about $11. |
 |
| If only it were healthier / socially acceptable to just drink sauce as your meal. |
 |
| Toasting nuts brings out their flavor exponentially. You can see here I toasted them in olive oil; the oil helps bind the panko and walnuts together, and helps create the beautiful golden brown color when baked. |
 |
| After processing the panko and walnuts together, the final mixture should have a similar texture as pictured. |
 |
| This is corvina - a cousin of grouper that is very mild and sweet. It was on sale the day I chose to make this dish, but still isn't the cheapest choice. Any white, flaky fish would work, including tilapia. Tilapia is much more affordable, and much more widely available. |
 |
| Make sure to apply the crust in an even, thin layer. |
 |
| The final product! I served with oven roasted brussel sprouts (delicious). |
Walnut Crusted Corvina with Lemon-Butter Sauce, Basil & Tomatoes
2 Corvina filets (any white, flaky fish will do)
2 T olive oil
Salt & pepper
Garlic powder
Walnut & panko topping (recipe follows)
Lemon-butter cream sauce (recipe follows)
Handful of fresh basil, cut into thin strips
1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced
Preheat your broiler. Heat oil over medium-high heat in an
oven-safe pan. Season one side of your fish with salt, pepper and garlic
powder. When the oil is hot, put the fish in the pan, seasoning-side down. Let
the fish sit and cook – don’t push it around the pan. Season the exposed side.
When the fish is halfway cooked (about 2-4 minutes, depending on thickness),
carefully turn the fish over. Add the walnut and panko topping in an even layer
over the fish. Move the pan to the oven, and broil until the fish is cooked
through and the topping is a golden brown (2-3 minutes). Carefully plate the
fish, and garnish with the lemon-butter sauce, basil and tomatoes.
Walnut Topping
¾ c walnuts, toasted
1 T olive oil
½ c panko
Salt & pepper to taste
Toast the walnuts in a pan on medium heat in the oil, until warmed through and
fragrant. In a food processor blend all of the ingredients until walnuts are
the small size as the panko.
Lemon-Butter Cream
Sauce
4 T butter (salted)
Shallot
Juice of half of a lemon (approximately 1T)
1/3 c white wine
Bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste
Splash cream
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add in
the minced shallot, and cook until translucent. Add lemon juice, white wine,
bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and let the mixture
reduce by half. Whisk in a splash of cream.
The sauce should be light and buttery. Strain and serve.
