Yes, you heard right – Coconut and Plantain Crusted fish! Oh. my. word. Out of this world!

The hubs and I have been inspired by one of our favorite restaurants here in Jupiter, Leftovers. They are SO creative with their fish dishes… and it has inspired us to get creative with ours (Exhibit A):

• Macadamia & Coconut Crusted Fish with Mexican Pesto
• Sweet Potato Crusted Fish with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

And now, this beautiful baby:

Sweet Coconut and Green Plantain crusted white fish topped with a tangy garlic key-lime dressing, and a heafty scoop of Mango Kiwi Salsa… all of that over a fluffy bed of coconut rice! HELLO GORGEOUS.

Let’s talk about the Key lime dressing in this one. Holy smokes! Where to start? It’s my new go-to fish topper… and I think I may just keep it on hand at all times. It just takes this dish to the NEXT level. In fact, we even made a second type of fish this weekend and topped it with that glorious dressing (a Jicama-lime crusted fish over mixed greens with mango red onion and jicama strips – TO DIE FOR). That recipe is coming next week… mmmm get excited! 😉

In the mean time? GO MAKE THIS. It’s amazing. It may even win over some of you fish haters! 😉

PS- I’m thinking of making a video tutorial on how to crust fish like this (we’ve got multiple recipes on here using the dredge, egg wash, coat method now). Would that be something that would interest you all? Some V-logs? I guess they are called… haha I need to get up with the times!

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Coconut Plantain Crusted Fish

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the Garlic Key Lime Dressing:
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2-2/3 cup key lime juice (depending on how tangy you like things)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup packed cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Fish:
4 - 6 ounce filets of tilapia (or other white flaky fish)
2 green plantains, peeled and shredded
1 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs, beaten

Mango Kiwi Salsa
Coconut Rice

Directions:

For the Garlic Key Lime Dressing:
Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Fish:
Mix the shredded plantains and coconut together in a dish and set aside. Next season the flour with salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish. In a third baking dish, place the beaten eggs. Set up an "assembly line" Fish, flour mixture, egg wash, and then the coconut plantain mixture.
Preheat oven to 375°. In an oven-safe skillet over medium heat, heat enough canola oil (2 tablespoons or so) to coat the bottom of pan (I used my beloved cast iron).

Dredge the fish into the flour mixture (being sure to thoroughly coat it) and shake off excess. Next, dunk into the egg wash. Last, place a thin layer (about 1/4") of the coconut plantain mixture into the hot pan, trying to match the size of the fish filet as best as possible. Place dredged and egg washed fish on top of the coconut plantain "bed".

Cook for 4 minutes, lift fish with a spatula. While holding fish with the spatula, add another thin layer of the coconut plantain mixture to the pan (again matching the size of your fish filet). Carefully flip the fish onto the new "bed" of coconut plantain mixture. Place entire skillet into the oven and allow to finish cooking (about 4-7 minutes).

Remove from oven and serve over a bed of coconut rice, drizzle with key lime dressing and top with mango kiwi salsa. Prepare to faint. SO good!