My sister-in-law and I went to a local Seafood restaurant a little while back and we both ordered a dish called Alaska True Cod Caddy Ganty (they also had a Halibut version of the same dish called something else) . The menu described the dish as- Marinated in white wine and oven roasted with a topping of sour cream, red onion and fresh dill. Served with almond basmati rice pilaf and seasonal vegetable. The delicate taste and the sheer simplicity of the the dish blew me away! I had never thought to top a fish with sour cream before….why hadn’t I?? I’ve topped Greek Salmon with Tzatziki before and it’s probably one of my favorite ways to eat Salmon in the summer. This dish took a regular mild flavored white fish fillet and elevated it with a simple flavored dill sour cream topping. I can easily make this!!
So, needless to say I went home and tried my own copycat version of this dish I liked so much….and it was a hit! Now, I tweaked my version from the restaurant’s a little and eliminated the white wine (cos, I didn’t have any at home) although you can easily add some to the marinade instead of the lemon juice if you want. And, I also used green onions instead of red…simply because it’s what I had…plus it works well as a garnish also.
I used Frozen Mahi-Mahi fillets as I tend to always buy those from Costco. But, any mild flavored white fish would work well for this recipe. Served up with Brown Butter and Parmesan Orzo and Green Beans…this is a perfectly impressive dish to serve to guests, yet simple and easy enough for a busy weeknight just for yourself! It is flavorfully moist, creamy and tangy…all the things a fish dish should be!
So without further adieu…here’s a step-by-step on how you can make this-
- 4 fillets of any firm white fish (I used Mahi-Mahi)
- 3/4 Cup of Sour Cream
- 1/2 tsp Salt + extra for marinating the fish
- 1/2 tsp ground Black Pepper + extra for marinating the fish
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
- 1/2 tbsp freeze dried Dill (or 1 tsp- fresh dill) + 1/2 tsp ( or 1/4 tsp) for the fish
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 3 Green Onions/Scallions
- 1/2 tsp (or less, depending on your spice level) crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated or powdered
- Start with 3/4 of a cup of sour cream (light sour cream, if you'd like) in a mixing bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper, the lemon zest and 1/2 tablespoon of freeze dried dill (or 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped dill) to it.
- Peel and grated 3 cloves of garlic into the bowl, along with the white parts of 3 green onions very finely chopped (save the green parts as a garnish for later).
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you're not a fan of spice at all) and a small squeeze of lemon juice (about 1/4 of a lemon). Mix everything together well and set it aside (in the fridge if you're cooking the fish later).
- Pre-heat your oven to 400F and lightly season your thawed fish fillets (Mahi-Mahi, Halibut and Cod work wonderfully for this recipe!) with some salt, ground black pepper, a sprinkling of dill and a small (about 1/4 of a lemon) squeeze of lemon juice on both sides of the fish.
- Place your fillets in an shallow oven proof casserole dish or parchment lined sheet cake pan and spread the dill sour cream mixture over the fillets in a somewhat even layer. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over the top of each fillet.
- Depending on the thickness of your fillets bake your fish for 15-20 minutes and brown the top by sticking them under the broiler for an additional 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them. (My fillets took just 15 minutes to cook and I stuck them under the broiler for 2 minutes to get the browned spots)
- Garnish the baked fish with the chopped green onions we saved from earlier and serve hot with some fresh vegetable side and or pasta or rice. I served the fish with some brown butter and Parmesan orzo and lemon-pepper green beans....mmm!
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I seriously do not bake fish enough. This looks incredibly delicious and easy too – perfect for a weeknight meal!
My boyfriend made me this dish following your recipe. It was the absolute best fish I’ve ever tasted! Just delicious!! Were saving this recipe so we can make it again and again 🙂
I really appreciate that the ingredients are reasonably found in my cupboard. The prep work was very easy!! I used wild cod served wild rice pilaf and green beans and cauliflower. (farmers market leftovers) I was out of regular parm so I used a cashew parm yum.. I got that the farmer’s market too. I added it after baking so the nuts didn’t burn. Afterwards, I wanted the gooeier shredded parm instead for this dish. I put the sauced fish on foil lined cookie sheet lightly sprayed with Pam aNd that worked fine. Smelled great while baking..tasted pretty darn good. The thing I would recommend is more texture for the plate. Since it isn’t a crunchy fish recipe, you could add fried quinoa or risotto cakes,etc. You don’t want your dish to be all mushy so be sure to add a texture element! Overall I think I just like a crunchy fish..perhaps the sauce could be a dipping sauce!
Made two versions of this dish, with dairy and with a dairy substitute. (I can’t have dairy) My husband raved about the original version, and I couldn’t get enough of the dairy substitute version. A definite winner. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Very delicious! I will definitely make it again.