I've been eating this dish for years and years. In fact, I recall my high school graduation dinner at Jimmy's Char House in Elgin and this is what I got. Years, ahem, almost 2 decades later, it's still my go-to whenever I go there. I've been totally craving the dish so during my last Costco trip, I picked up a few pounds of frozen Mahi Mahi filets and set out to re-create this favorite. I'm happy to report this dish may be better than Jimmy's, but was eaten standing up at the kitchen island with a cranky baby on my hip. Definitely didn't quite capture the steakhouse vibe I was going for :)
The fish is flakey, and the parmesan and panko crust with a punch of garlic and lemon makes it absolutely divine. It tastes much more complicated than it is to put together and not to mention, only uses a handful of ingredients. It cooks in 20 minutes and even reheated well for lunch the next day!
So what is al forno? Basically put, it's just baked. Mahi Mahi always feels like a bit of a treat. Maybe it's the tropical name, or that this was always a special dinner growing up whenever we went to the local steak house, but it really is a delightful fish. It holds up and is flakey but not so much that it falls apart. I like that with the crust so you can really get a delicious bite each time.
I remember one particularly eventful night out that I had this, our first anniversary, and we brought our 10 day old baby, June, with us. As new parents, we had the diaper bag packed, legit looked like we were going on vacation, and our night out ended up in the Walmart parking lot with a ticked off Junebug, a blow out and trying to give her a bottle for one of her first times because we couldn't bear to let her screech for 2 more minutes to do all of this at home. Like I said, newbies.
But back to the dish. It's really quite simple to put together and uses minimal ingredients. Mahi Mahi, panko, parmesan, garlic powder, parsley, some melted butter, a couple of eggs and some fresh lemons and you are in business.
First setup your dredging station. Mix your panko, parmesan, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and dried parsley together. Next, beat two eggs into a separate bowl.
After your filets have thawed, pat dry, season a bit with some salt and pepper and put the filet into the egg ensuring to get the egg wash all over the fish.
Next press the first side into the panko mix. Flip, press the second side and add to a greased cookie sheet. I just used spray olive oil for this to ensure the bottoms still crisped a bit and I didn't lose my breading on the bottom of my cookie sheet while they baked. Repeat until all of your filets are done. I topped the extra panko mix onto the filets and pressed well before melting a few tablespoons of butter and drizzled those over the panko crust. This allows it to brown up a bit more where the butter has hit it and gives it an extra pop of crunch.
I sliced up a few lemons and added those to my greased cookie sheet so they brown up a bit and release some of their lemon flavor onto the fish as it baked. It's subtle but I highly recommend not skipping this step.
Lastly, I popped it into an oven at 425° for 20 minutes, until my thickest filet registered 145° and out they went. Another quick squeeze of a lemon and dinner is served.
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