This recipe is based on a broiled breaded flounder from Robin’s childhood. The cod fillets looked appealing in the market, and Robin substitutes italian bread crumbs with japanese panko crumbs for a crispier fish. We panfry and then bake the fish, and the results are superb. Crisp and well-seasoned on the outside, and tender and moist on the inside.

We purchase the fish fillet in the morning and keep it well chilled in the fridge. An hour before we want to eat, we take the fillet from the fridge, rinse and pat it dry. With our kitchen scissors, we cut the fillet into 4 portions. We place them into a large bowl and cover them with milk. We place the bowl in the fridge for about half an hour. The milk helps tenderize the fish and removes any “fishy smells” that may be present (although our fish is impeccably fresh!).

Meanwhile, we will use “standard breading procedure” to coat the fish. We get this ready while the fish is soaking in the fridge. On a plate we place a piece of wax paper and pour on the flour. We add some salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl we lightly beat the eggs with the water in a bowl. We crush the garlic with our knife and add it to the eggs. With our microplane grater, we zest the lemon into the eggs. On another plate we place another piece of wax paper with the bread crumbs and mix in some salt and pepper. We get another plate ready to place the breaded fillets. We slice the zested lemon to be served with the fish.

A half hour before we want to eat, we pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. We place an aluminum-foil coated cookie sheet in the oven.

We remove the fish from the fridge and place each piece first into the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and finally the bread crumbs. We set the place aside for about 15 minutes to help the coating to adhere.

In a large nonstick frying pan, we heat about 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil with half of the butter over medium heat. When hot, we add two pieces of fish (we choose the thicker ones) and pan-fry for 2 minutes, turning when the bottom is brown. We continue to cook on the other side for another 1-2 minutes. We put these on the cookie sheet in the oven to continue to cook. We add more olive oil and butter to the pan and continue with the remaining thin fish pieces. We place these in the oven and cook for a few minutes under the fish is cooked through (a paring nice slides easily through the fillets).

We top with a squeeze of lemon and some parsley.

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