Sesame-Crusted Fish

A few years ago I attended a cooking class with Tony Mantuano, the owner-chef of Tuttaposto, then a very trendy restaurant in Chicago. This was one of the recipes he showed us. A fast and tasty dish.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 16  ounces  fillets  white-fleshed fish (4 fillets)
• 1  cup sesame seeds
• 3  egg whites, beaten until frothy
• 3  tablespoons olive oil
•  salt
•  fresh coarse ground black pepper
•  cornmeal

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.
2. Heat oil in a nonstick pan.
3. Brush fillets with the egg whites and season with salt and pepper.
4. Coat thickly on one side only with the sesame seeds.
5. Saute in oil, seed side down, until golden brown.
6. Place seed side up on a cornmeal sprinkled baking pan and bake at 400 deg. until done - this will depend on the thickness of your fillets, probably will take about 5 minutes.
7. Or, you can just turn over and panfry until done.
8. Note1: Chef recommended grouper or red snapper; I've made this also with tilapia.
9. Note2: Baking is really handy if you are making a larger quantity - that way you can finish all the fillets at the same time.