I was skeptical about fish and parmesan, but this was really quite good. The recipe called for mayo, which DY and I don't particularly like, but you could hardly taste it so that's a plus. I cooked the fillets on a rack for 10 minutes on one side, then flipped them and cooked for another 8 minutes to make sure the bottoms weren't soggy. The result was very nice, flaky, not fishy-smelling at all tilapia fillets with a subtle parmesan taste.
To top it off, I mixed mayo with Sriracha (heavy on the Sriracha) to make a dipping sauce. I hate mayo, but I love Sriracha. The combo was awesome :)
Panko and Parmesan Tilapia with Sriracha Dipping Sauce adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Yield: Serves 2-4
INGREDIENTS
For the tilapia:
½ cups panko breadcrumbs
½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp light mayonnaise
4 pieces tilapia
For the sriracha dipping sauce:
3 tbsp light mayonnaise
2 tsp sriracha, or to your taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a baking rack over a baking pan, or spray a baking pan with non-stick spray.
Mix together the panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian herbs and garlic powder in a shallow dish and set aside.
Pat the fish fillets dry with a paper towel and spread about a half tablespoon of the mayonnaise all over each fillet. You should have a very light coating on the fish – you may not need all of the mayo depending on the size of you fillets.
After you coat the fish, press each fillet in the panko/Parmesan mixture, turning over to get the entire fillet coated.
Put the fillet on the baking pan and lightly spray the tops with the cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes, turning halfway through baking, until the fish is lightly browned on top and around the edges.
For the dipping sauce, just combine ingredients and serve.