It's Lent so every grocery store in town has fish on sale. I'm taking advantage of good prices to make some tasty seafood dishes. By using canned crab meat, this was very reasonably priced for such an elegant meal. Make these with a steak for a stay-in date night and you're all set! <3
No lengthy commentary, let's get right to the good stuff.
C R A B - S T U F F E D F I S H
Pre-heat oven to 350. Butterfly open and put on non-stick sprayed sheet pan:
6 tilapia, flounder, or any white fish fillets (if they're too thin to butterfly you can just sandwich the stuffing between two fillets)
In a pan, saute till soft:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, minced
1 red pepper, minced
When soft add and saute one more minute:
4 cloves garlic minced
Remove from heat. Stir in:
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (About 20. You can add more to taste)
2 tablespoons cream, 1/2 & 1/2, or milk (what you have on hand, but cream is tastiest!)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1 egg (be sure mixture is slightly cooled before you add the egg)
2 4-oz cans crab meat, drained
Adjust crab mixture with more crackers or mayo to get the right consistency. Generously heap stuffing into each fillet (or between two fillets, depending). Close fillets and sprinkle with:
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Bake about 25 minutes till flaky and cooked through. Meanwhile in a small, microwavable bowl melt:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
Remove fish from oven. Drizzle with the garlic butter. Sprinkle with
Parsley, chopped
Serve with lemon wedges, salad, and a vegetable.