today i decide to make a favorite of mine that i have not made in months, polonaise, bread crumb, herb and egg topping. this particular polonaise is a made from fresh bread crumbs, chopped hard boiled quail eggs, curly parsley, grated parmesan and gouda goat cheeses and seasoned with fresh milled black pepper, fresh milled sea salt, english mustard powder, garlic powder, shallot powder and the finest of hungarian medium hot paprika. i have left out the drizzle of melted butter trying to mitigate the cholesterol and fat implications. typically this is a topping for vegetables such as steamed broccoli and cauliflower, but today I will put it on fish. a fillet of white snapper I got at the thai fresh market down the street.
i first remove the crust form a “sturdy” white bread slices (a sour dough baguette is also good for this purpose but not wheat or grain breads) and cut them into small 1 inch squares. i then put them into the bowl of a food processor (follow this link and you will see a model i have had for 18 years and it still runs great, even after using it in a restaurant for many of those years) that has a basic s-knife blade installed. i then pulse the processor until the crumbs are fluffy. be careful to use a good white bread, and to make certain you do not over process the crumbs to the point where they become gummy and stuck together.
i remove the bread from the processor and then put in the quail eggs. note: they should be chilled so they too do not get over processed and pureed. pulsing the processor is best for this application. remove the eggs and add them to the breading.
next, finely chop your parsley, and grate both your cheeses. add them to the bread and egg mix and stir with a fork lightly making certain not to over work the mix and make it gummy.
now add your seasonings and mix again. if you wish to add melted butter, now is the time to drizzle that into the mix and give it a final turn. set it aside.
now get out an oven proof casserole dish and either moisten the bottom with a bit of oil, margarine or butter so the fish will not stick. you may also use a bit of tomato sauce if you choose; it goes quite well with the polonaise. place the fish in the casserole and top with the polonaise mixture. bake/broil until the fish is done and the polonaise is golden brown.
waa-laa, it be ready to eat. today I had mine with a small side of pesto pasta and sautéed zucchini squash.
note: dried bread crumbs are not good for this unless they are very large and started out like the breading described here.
bag of polonaise topping
baked and then broiled fish fillet with polonaise topping.
make certain the casserole dish is wiped clean of finger prints and oil residue so that it will not discolor when baking (also a good preventative measure if you intend on hitting someone over the head with the casserole before washing it). you can see i neglected to do that here on the inside of the casserole. that is what happens when you make lunch and work on the computer at the same time.
enjoy!
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