food & dining
GRADUATE GREETINGS
Jacob, All the Best on
your next plateau.

From your Philly Mishpacha,
Libby, Temmy, Alan, Danielle & Roy
Congratulations Amanda,
We wish you all the best in this
next chapter of your life.

Love you!
Mommom, Poppop, & Justin
18 JUNE 30, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Fish Bake
Summer Dinner
KERI WHITE | SPECIAL TO THE JE
M y sister made this for a crowd at the beach
last weekend. It showcased the local fi sh, was
simple to prepare and was enjoyed by all.

One great benefi t of the dish is that it can be done a
bit ahead of time. I would not do it at 8 a.m. to serve
for dinner — the fi sh could begin to break down
if it is coated with the lemon/garlic mixture for a
long spell — but Sis put it together around 2 p.m.,
chucked it in the fridge and headed to the beach for
a few hours.

Th e lemon/garlic/salt/pepper combo is acceptable
to even the pickiest palates and, accompanied by a
summery salad and a loaf of bread, dinner was done!
If you want more items on the table, serve rice or
quinoa tossed with some fresh summer herbs, your
favorite slaw or a couscous or tabouli salad.

We kept dessert super-simple — a selection of
ice creams for people to scoop and serve as desired.

Ice cream sandwiches or pops are even better — no
spoons or bowls to clean. If you want something
more elaborate, lean toward fruit or chocolate and
away from custards or puddings to optimize the
contrast and complement rather than compete with
the fi sh main course.

Fish Bake
Serves 4
We used fl ounder for this, layered into a casse-
role, but any white fi sh would be fi ne — haddock,
tilapia, cod, sole, et cetera. The key is to layer
it up so that you sort of cut squares to serve —
almost like lasagna. It is easily multiplied for a
crowd; we served 12 and used a large rectangular
baking dish to cook it, but the recipe here is for
a more normal-sized group. A loaf pan or square
baking pan would work best for this version.

The panko gives the dish some additional tex-
ture and heft, as well as a nice crispy topping, but
if you are cutting carbs or are allergic to gluten
you can skip it.

Another pro tip: Double the butter mixture and
serve it on the table with crusty bread, or save it
to stir into pasta or rice tomorrow.

1½ pounds fresh white fi sh such as fl ounder or
haddock ½ stick butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lemon, juice and zest
½ teaspoon salt
Summer salad
Photo by Keri White
½ teaspoon pepper
⅔ cup panko
Fresh parsley and/or dill to garnish
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix the softened butter with
the garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and zest.

Pat the fi sh dry. Coat a square 8-inch-by-8-inch
baking pan or loaf pan with nonstick spray. Place
a layer of fi sh in the pan. Spread it lightly with the
butter mixture, and then sprinkle it with panko.

Continue this until all the fi sh and butter are used
up. Top it with a layer of panko.

Bake for 30-40 minutes (depending on how
thick your fi sh is) until done — it should cut/fl ake
easily and be opaque throughout, and the panko
crumbs should be toasted. When you are ready
to serve, top the fi sh with chopped fresh parsley
and/or dill, if desired.

Summer Salad
Serves 4
The fi sh dish above is delicious but a little mono-
chromatic. This colorful salad will jazz up your
table visually and tastily. The beer vinegar was a
unique and fl avorful addition to the dressing — a
random item that came in a gourmet gift basket
that I had lying around. If you don’t have it, just
use malt, cider or sherry vinegar instead.

6 cups arugula or other baby lettuce, such as
spring mix
1 raw beet, peeled and sliced thinly with a
vegetable peeler (It should look like
fl ower petals.)
1 ear of corn (raw or cooked), kernels sliced off
1 scallion, sliced, or a few tablespoons chopped
red or sweet onion
1 tablespoon beer vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
Generous sprinkle of fresh-cracked pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
In a large salad bowl, mix all the vegetables.

Right before serving, sprinkle the dressing ingre-
dients over the salad, toss and serve. JE