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Simple Baked Fish With Corn Bread Crust

Baking fish is as easy as one-two-three:

1. Fish is best baked quickly at high heat (400 to 425 degrees).

2. Use fillets similar in size. Fish needs to bake 10 minutes per inch plus 5 minutes if it's covered in a sauce (longer if frozen). Tuck thin edges under or overlap thin edges for even baking. Use a sauce or butter to keep the fish moist, as in today's recipe for Simple Baked Fish With Corn Bread Crust.

3. Baked fish is done when it turns opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

Some of the best fish for baking are tilapia, catfish, trout, grouper, halibut and red snapper. Salmon, tuna, swordfish and other steak-like fillets benefit from cooking methods that use even higher temperatures, such as roasting or grilling.

Serve Simple Baked Fish With Corn Bread Crust with rice pilaf and a crisp green salad.

Simple Baked Fish With Corn Bread Crust

4 servings

• 4 boneless, skinless fish fillets (about 6 ounces each, 1 to 1 1/2 inches at thickest), such as tilapia, catfish or trout (see note)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup bottled Italian dressing (see note)
• 1 large corn muffin, for 2/3 cup coarse crumbs
• 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray an oblong glass baking dish with cooking-oil spray. Lightly season each fillet with salt and pepper and place in the dish. (The thin edges may overlap.) Pour the dressing evenly over the fish.

Crumble the corn muffin and sprinkle the crumbs over the fish. Place the dish in the preheated oven, and bake until the dressing bubbles at the edges, the crumbs lightly brown and the thickest parts of the fillets are opaque and flake easily with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes.

While fish is baking, quarter the lemon and set aside. When the fish is done, remove it from the oven, squeeze the juice from the lemon quarters over the fish and serve immediately.

Notes: If the only available fillets are large, cut two of them in half to make four servings. For testing purposes, we used Kraft Zesty Italian dressing. Any bottled Italian dressing will work.

Start to finish: Less than 25 minutes.

Per serving: 280 calories (36 percent from fat), 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 91 mg cholesterol, 35 g protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g dietary fiber, 342 mg sodium.

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