Recently my husband and I took a camping trip to Panama City Beach, Florida which was lovely, minus the tornado warning we received at 5 am one morning, and had to “take cover” with our 45-pound GoldenDoodle, Sophie in the campground laundry room! Thankfully, no tornado struck the campground, and we were safely back in our RV by 6:30 am. During the rest of our uneventful trip, we got to enjoy several dinners out. Our favorite restaurant was The Grand Marlin. If you are in Panama City Beach, definitely check it out. It has pretty views of the Grand Lagoon with beautiful sunsets making it a perfect date night spot. The atmosphere is casual, relaxed, and fun with a Caribbean flair. The food was absolutely fantastic and unforgettable.
We loved it so much we ate there twice! And twice we had the BBQ Oysters, they were spectacular….both nights! The other menu selections did not disappoint either and were equally enjoyable and inspired me to make this dish when I returned home to my kitchen. My husband ordered snapper with a lemon butter sauce with crispy capers. Crispy capers are my new favorite garnish. They are slightly crispy and salty and add the perfect texture to this dish and would pair well with any other fish dish that needs a little zesty, salty, briny goodness! So, don’t skip the crispy capers...oh and they keep for three days in an airtight container! Bonus!
This is a delightfully light dish as the flounder is encrusted in freshly grated parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs and then baked not fried. Then while the fish is baking you can whip up the lovely yet simple lemon butter sauce. Better than a restaurant, seriously!!!
Ingredients:
For the Fish:
¼ cup olive oil (divided)
1 pound flounder fillets
Salt and fresh ground pepper
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
For the Lemon Butter Sauce:
4 Tablespoons of butter
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
½ of a lemon cut into segments (rind and all)
2 teaspoons capers (drained)
2 Tablespoons diced shallots
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
For the Crispy Capers:
Olive Oil
¼ cup capers, drained and dried on paper towel
Directions:
For the Fish:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Drizzle 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on parchment-lined baking sheet.
Season the flounder on both sides with salt and pepper.
On a large plate combine the Parmesan, panko crumbs, garlic, and lemon zest.
Dredge the fish in the parmesan bread crumb mixture on both sides, pressing to coat onto the fish.
Place the breaded fish onto the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon.
Bake until golden and fish flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes.
If desired, you may broil for 30 seconds to get the crust a little extra crispy. Just keep an eye on it!
For the Sauce:
Place saute pan over medium heat, add the butter and cook until it begins to brown. Be careful not to burn, once the butter begins to smell toasty, you’re there!
Add the shallots, capers, lemon segments, lemon juice, parsley and cook for a minute longer over medium-low heat to warm through.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour over the fish and garnish with extra parsley and crispy capers.
For the Crispy capers:
Pour ¼ cup olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan and heat oil until hot.
Carefully place the well-dried capers into the oil and cook until crispy, about 3-4 minutes.
Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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