Andy's Onion-Crusted White Perch

I love it when I come across simple, easy recipes like this one.  This recipe comes from a friend of my brother-in-law.  His name is Andy and we were both at a graduation party for my niece, Caroline, a few weeks ago.  He knew I'm a foodie, so he told me about this easy idea for baking fish that he came up with himself.  My brother-in-law, Roger, and Andy are avid white perch fisherman and every spring they pack their freezers full.  In fact, while I was at the party, Roger asked if we wanted a couple of bags of fillets.  Like I am going to turn down free food.  Not even.

This is easy, I mean eas-y, and with only four ingredients you can put it together in no time.

-Line the pan with foil first, Andy said, for easy clean up.

-This recipe would work well with many different types of fish, and is a great alternative to frying.

-Sure, you could put the crushed onions in a bowl, then dip the fish in eggs and coat in crumbs, but then you would be dirtying up two more bowls, right?  Just sprinkle the crumbs on top and you'll get a nice, crunchy crust, I promise.  And you'll have less dishes to do.

-Andy said to brush the fillets with olive oil, but I'm partial to melted butter when it comes to fish.  Either works fine.

-He also said he uses Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, but I experimented with a couple more of my favorite seasoning blends for variety.

-I added a quick mayonnaise based sauce, optional.  Tartar sauce would be great, too.

Andy’s Onion-Crusted White Perch

Printable Recipe

About 2 pounds white perch fillets (or other fish)

1/2 melted butter (or extra virgin olive oil)

Creole seasoning, Blackened seasoning, Greek seasoning or other favorite seasoning

1 (6-ounce) bag French fried onions, finely crushed

Lemon slices for squeezing

Easy Creole Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Lay fillets out flat and brush with melted butter.  Season with favorite seasoning blend, then sprinkle the tops with the crushed fried onions, patting down slightly.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

To make the sauce, stir together the mayonnaise, Creole seasoning, and horseradish together in a small bowl.  Serve fish with sauce and lemon slices.  (All measurements are approximate.)