Wasabi Crusted Fish Fillets

Johnny and I decided to make dinner last night and the cod turned out much better than expected.  It was flakey and tender and the panko was nice and crispy (it could have been slightly crispier, so we will probably leave it in the oven for a bit longer next time).  We just made a simple pasta with portobello mushroom marinara sauce on top as a side dish.


Here's a (very blurry) iPhone picture of our dish:

Thinking of making this yourself?  Here's the recipe:

Wasabi Crusted Fish Fillets

Ingredients:

1 lb (0.5 kg) cod or halibut fillets

1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) wasabi paste

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)

1/2 tsp (2 mL) paprika

Directions:

(1) Pat fillets dry with paper towels.  Combine mayonnaise, wasabi paste and salt; spread on both sides of fillets.

(2) Combine panko and paprika in a pie plate

(3) Working with one piece at a time, dip fillets into panko mixture, pressing lightly so that panko mixture adheres; turn to coat both sides.

(4) Place fillets in a single layer on a greased rimmed baking sheet.

(5) Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees Fahrenheit  (230 degrees celsius) for 10-12 minutes per inch (2.5 cm) of thickness or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Serves 4.

Overall?  Great success and we both loved it!  Johnny enjoys wasabi more and said he would put more next time, but I was happy with the amount that was in the recipe.  You might want to play around with the measurements to see which you like best.  We cut the recipe in half since there was only the two of us (so naturally, all the ingredients we used were also cut in half).  We found Japanese Panko crumbs at Save-on-Foods in the spice/baking aisle.  They should sell it at Superstore as well.  Hope you give this a try!!

Recipe from:  http://www.atcoblueflamekitchen.com/

Sabor Divino

This is the continuation of good food for Johnny's birthday.  On Saturday, we went to Sabor Divino for dinner.  We had been there before for my birthday in November and everyone had loved the food, so we decided to give it another try.


I made our reservations online through OpenTable originally for 7pm, but we realized Edmonton is lame on Saturday nights and nothing opens past 5pm, so we phoned in advance and asked if we could show up an hour early and they happily agreed. 


The service was great and we made our decisions quickly (although our final orders differed from what we were initially going to order when we read the menus online).


Before the appetizer came, they started us off with some olives and bread.  They gave us some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and butter for the bread:

Next was our Broiled Eggplant Package ($9) appetizer.  It was very flavourful and I have a love for pine nuts, so it definitely added to the dish. 

Fresh tomato, goat cheese, basil, wrapped in eggplant, balsamic vinaigrette and pine nuts

Johnny ordered the Bacalhau - Almost Divine Cod ($32).  This was my favorite dish the entire night.  Neither of us really ever order fish at restaurants, but because we heard so much about this dish, Johnny decided he would give it a try and neither of us regretted it one little bit.  It came with mashed potatoes and was definitely to die for.

Salt cod baked in cream, olive oil, white wine, leek, carrot, and pureed potato

Lastly, I ordered their Margret de Canard ($25).  This was not originally on the menu and intrigued me to order it when I saw it listed.  The meat was tender and flavour was perfect, but I did not enjoy the fat that lined the meat as much.

Pan seared duck breast, black trumpet mushroom, shallots, licor Beirao 

Overall?  I LOVE this restaurant and would definitely return in a heartbeat.  My goal is to try everything on the menu at least once because I know it will all be amazing.  I highly suggest this restaurant if you ever get a chance!  It's great for parties and romantic dinners and have piano players performing on certain evenings creating a wonderful atmosphere.

Sabor Divino
10220-103 St.
(780) 757-1114

http://www.sabordivino.ca/?sabor-divino-restaurant,1