This is a wonderfully crispy, nutty crust, juxtaposed against the creaminess of the fish fillet.  The flavors play off of each other, bring cohesion to the dish, but still offer up a delightful textural quality.  According to The Spicy Honey, it’s a keeper recipe.  We enjoy fish.  Pretty much seafood of any kind.  Be adventurous when purchasing fish/seafood.  There are some wonderful varieties of fish that sort of fly under the radar.  I suspect part of the reason, is that some varieties just aren’t fished as much as others and perhaps, aren’t as lucrative for the fisherman.  At any rate, if you encounter hog fish, parrot fish, tile fish, red grouper, redfish, sablefish (black cod) or porgy, grab them.  In my experience, they tend to be a bit less expensive and some are smaller fish, more single-serving types.  But, the flavors and texture are lovely.  I know there are a ton more options, but these are the ones I’ve encountered.  Many years ago, turbot was cheap, cheap, cheap.  Not any more…too many people realized just how delicious it is…that’s the down-side of some of the “new” finds…others find them, too.  But, for this recipe, any whitefish should work well.  For the coating, simply combine the plantain, pecan and panko crumbs, along with coarsely shredded parmesan.  I’ve tried this with freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano, and frankly, the lovely nuances of that very special cheese (along with the price tag), are just wasted here. The more coarsely shredded parm in the bags, sold in supermarket dairy sections, just works better.  It enhances that nice nutty flavor without getting too sticky.  Stupidly, I was just sailing along, making dinner, when I realized I hadn’t taken any pictures of the seasoning process.  But, being an intelligent person, you don’t really need pictures.  When possible, and this will only works with small, whole fish, it’s nice to leave the tail on, because it gives you “handle” to work with.  But, if there’s no tail, this is not an insurmountable problem.  So, whole fish, open each fish, like a book, and season the inside.  “Close the book” on that step, and then smear the exterior with a thin layer of mayonnaise.  If using a filet, season one side only, as we don’t want to over-power the delicate flavor of the fish.  A thin layer of mayonnaise, on both sides each fillet helps the coating adhere, keeps the fish moist and is a definite flavor enhancer.  This is a good make-ahead main course, as I think it’s important for the coated fillets to rest.  It allows the coating to “set”.  So, you can do this in the morning, cover them well with plastic wrap and refrigerate them until you and your crowd are ready to eat.  Speaking of crowd, I’m working on an oven-cooked version…I’ll keep you posted.  I like to fry the fish in an oil/butter combination.  The oil let’s you fry a bit hotter and the butter is, well…butter…YUM!  If you have these chillin’ in the fridge, this is a quick, mid-week, restaurant-quality meal.  It’s really that simple.  Once you’ve coated the fish, this takes about 8-10 minutes from the frying pan to the table.  I served them with corn-on-the-cob and Quick Roasted Sugar Snap Peas with Garlic and Ginger.  I did make a little mignonette on the side, just a combination of finely diced cucumber, scallions, sweet peppers, tomatoes and herbs, with a squeeze of lemon juice.  I honestly don’t think it really did much for the fish, as it was so good already, but the squeeze of lemon is always nice with fish.

If you run across a larger fish you wish to try, this will still work well.  You may have to adjust the cooking time and/or switch the cooking method to the oven, but you can do that.  Though I must admit, there is something rather nice about having your own personal, little fish.

You may have noticed that I’ve used “filet” and “fillet” in this post.  They refer to the process of removing fish or meat from its bones.  So either version is correct, generally speaking.  I’m putting my grammar soapbox away, now.  Have a good dinner!