My friend Aaron doesn't cook, but decided it was time to learn how to make at least a few simple meals. So he asked if I'd give him some lessons. So far he has mastered breaded chicken cutlets and mashed potatoes. He recently asked if I'd teach him how to make baked fish fillets and roasted potato wedges. Tonight was the night we did it! The meal turned out perfect and I gave my student an A+! Here is how we did it.
Roasted potatoes and onions:
1 baking potato for each person, scrubbed and cut into quarters the long way
1 medium red onion for every two people, peeled and quartered
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take a baking dish large enough to hold the potato and onion quarters in a single layer and grease with olive oil or butter or cooking spray. Place the potato and onion quarters on the baking dish and either brush with your butter or olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle whatever kind of seasoning you happen to like (garlic powder, Italian herbs, favorite spice mixes, etc. I used some Mrs. Dash) and place in the oven. Roast about 20 minutes, then turn the wedges over and continue roasting another 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and nicely browned.
Baked Fish:
4 white fish fillets, I like tilapia, about 1 1/2-2 pounds
Place the fillets on a greased baking sheet with edges. Brush the tops of the fillets with milk, sprinkle some seasoning lightly on that (I used Mrs. Dash again) and sprinkle a couple tablespoons of dry bread crumbs on top. Either dribble some oil or melted butter over the crumbs or spray with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees if using a gas oven and to broil if using an electric. Cook the fish approximately 10 minutes or until it flakes. If using a gas oven you can then run the fish under the broiler for no more than a minute to crisp the top a bit. Serve immediately. Lime or lemon slices on the side is quite nice. This amount of fish will serve 4 people.
With a salad or some steamed vegetables, this fish and roasted potatoes makes a very quick, light and healthy meal. Aaron loved it!
