This is a lovely and yet easy dish to prepare and serve. Broiling is always better than frying; the pesto is heady in flavor; the crunchy top a savory and satisfying contrast to the delicate white fish meat. If you are looking for an easy fish recipe, here it is. Sometimes cooking fish can seem like a complicated or daunting task. It really doesn’t have to be.

Actually, fish is quite easy. It requires very little preparation or cooking time. The most complicated part of fish is the cleaning it. But you can always buy it already prepared.
I accompany the fish with julienne vegetables quickly sauteed in a bit of olive oil. The orange carrots, green zucchini and white root celery make the entire dish a bright and colorful plate.

Using frozen fish filets and ready-made pesto will decrease your prep time by half. It’s a great dish to serve mid-week when your energies are down and lots of prep time is too daunting, especially after a long day with the kids or work.

I chose to use lime instead of lemon here because its greenness works so nicely with the pesto. Also it’s a real change from the traditional lemon, giving the fish a little more exotic / island flavor to it (and we could all use some island flavors, n’est-ce pas?)

If you are really in a pinch on vegetables, use a mixed frozen variety. Steam them until they are bright in color and cooked through then toss with olive oil, salt and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (freshly grated of course!) Easy meal; lots of happy faces. Nice return on small energy investment when it’s not quite the weekend and you want to maintain your commitment to eating better foods and keep on that healthy diet.

Broiled Fish Filets with Pesto Croustanti

• 6 white fish filets (halibut, cob, monkfish or other mild fish)
• juice from 1 lime
• 6 tablespoons pesto sauce
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• pat of butter per fish filet

Preheat broiler; rinse fish under cold water, pat dry with kitchen towel lay on cookie sheet or shallow baking dish; squeeze juice from lime over the fish filets, then rub the pulp over filets as well. Top with pesto sauce, salt and freshly cracked pepper then with Parmesan cheese. Broil for 15-20 minutes approximately 8 inches (20 cm) from broiler until fish is white through and topping is gold and crusty. Dot with butter and serve immediately.