Crispy Fish with Lemon-Dill Sauce

You know how when you plan a trip to North Carolina in January you expect nice, warm, sunshiny weather?

Yeah... I went to NC this past weekend and experienced a winter storm!?! What in the heck my beloved state? How could you do that to me?

Besides the weather, it really was a nice visit. I got to meet some of my friends' brand new baby girl... she is so adorable and slept beautifully the whole time we were there. I must admit it scares me a little bit to hold someone that little. She just is so precious. :) I got to catch up with another old friend over a meal of good southern fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese topped off with a Duke basketball win. I also went to a wedding for two of my dear friends. I got to see lots of folks from grad school and celebrate the union of two special people. Of course, the cherry on the cake was seeing Scott as always.

Now I'm back into the grind of work. And cooking. Quick and easy, but also healthy, is always a requirement after I've been traveling. I need to shed the layer of grease from fast food but I don't have a lot of extra time since I'm catching up on everything else.

For this, I can always turn to fish. This recipe is done in the blink of an eye and can most likely be prepared with ingredients you already have in your pantry and freezer. Pair it with some steamed broccoli and you are good to go. Feel free to use whatever type of white fish without a lot of inherent flavor-- this week I used tilapia, but it works great with cod and catfish as well. The lemon-dill sauce is basically a homemade tartar sauce that I could eat by the spoonful. It adds some tang and cream to the crisp of the fish.

Crispy Fish with Lemon-Dill Sauce (adapted from Cooking Light April 2010)
Ingredients:
For Fish:
1 egg white
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 6-oz skinless white fish fillets (tilapia, cod, catfish or pollock)
salt and pepper

For Lemon-Dill Sauce: 
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp finely diced dill pickle (about 1 small)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh dill

Directions:
Preheat broiler on high. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Lightly beat the egg white in a shallow dish. Combine the panko, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder in another shallow dish. Sprinkle both sides of the fish lightly with salt and pepper. Dip each fillet into the egg white and then the panko mixture, pressing to adhere. Place on the wire rack. Mist the top of the fish with cooking spray. Broil for about 8 minutes, flipping over halfway through, until fish is cooked to your desired doneness.

For the sauce, combine the mayo, pickle, lemon juice and dill in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.

Serve the fish topped with the sauce.

Serves 2.