Almond-Crusted Fish from the North Sea Region of Germany

Let’s start the New Year on a healthy note. Here’s a tasty way to prepare and serve fish fillets. The fish fillets are topped with an almond crust and baked, then served over a bed of savoy cabbage, onions and dried fruit along with a tangy mustard sauce. The fish fillet with crunchy topping simply melts in your mouth!  This is an easy way to live a heart healthy diet. With all of our fried food served in Louisiana, the recipe is a welcome change.

The recipe is adapted from a German cookbook featuring cuisine from the Northern regions of the country. Knowing how much I like to cook, my son and his wife gave me the German cookbook for a birthday present with the promise of translating any of the recipes. The cookbook title means, “North German Home Kitchen: The Best Recipes from Ostfriesland to Rugen.” It made an interesting way for me to learn about the cuisine from other parts of the world — and involve my son who also loves to cook.

The North Sea Beach at Cuxhaven, Germany

I especially like the cover of the cookbook. The little beach huts are exactly like the ones we saw when we visited the North Sea at Cuxhaven, Germany. At low tide, the North Sea reseeds for about nine miles exposing the floor of the ocean. A person can walk out for miles on the mudflats (or the tidal flats) of the North Sea. You can go with a guide — either walking or in horse-drawn wagons to the distant island of Neuwerk. Look closely — the little figures are actually people returning from the island during the four hours of low tide. They are walking across the floor of the ocean which will soon be covered with water.

German Recipe

Back to the recipe. I cannot read the German text, so I browsed through the cookbook and chose a recipe and accompanying photo which looked interesting. Translated it means, “Almond Crusted Turbot with Mustard Sauce.” The fish is served on a bed of savoy cabbage and dried fruit along with a tangy mustard sauce. 

Adapting the recipe for Louisiana

I am living in southern Louisiana, not Germany, so I adapted the recipe for our local ingredients. The recipe calls for turbot fish fillets. Hum, we don’t have this type of fish available in Louisiana. Turbot is a firm, white fish. Halibut and sole are generally considered as substitutes for turbot. Since turbot is a flounder species, I’m guessing that flounder fillets — caught in the Gulf of Mexico — could also be used. Here in Louisiana, catfish is a common fish — available either fresh or frozen — so I’m substituting this fish in my recipe.

This recipe is different from our typical local seafood dishes. The fish fillets are served over a bed of savoy cabbage and dried fruit. The cabbage and raisins add nutritional value and made a tasty presentation. For the dried fruit, you could add dried apricots and prunes along with the raisins. For the savoy cabbage — I am substituting Chinese cabbage which  grows in my garden in the wintertime. This cabbage has a peppery flavor and is similar in appearance to savoy cabbage — perhaps slightly stronger in taste. Finally, this recipe is a good use for my crop of winter cabbage.

To make the recipe

Here are most of the ingredients for this recipe.

To prepared the recipe, I blended together chopped almonds, margarine and seasoned bread crumbs. I’ve made this recipe several times — sometimes using slivered almonds and sometimes chopped almonds. Season the fillets with salt and pepper — and for a Louisiana touch, I sprinkled on Cajun Tony Chachere’s seasoning. Then top the fish with the almond crust and bake in a 350 degree oven until tender — the time will depend on the type and size of fish fillets.

To prepared the rest of the dish, saute chopped Chinese (or savoy) cabbage and dried fruit — I used raisins — in margarine until the cabbage begins to wilt. Add chicken broth, season with salt and sugar, and simmer until the liquid evaporates. (Didn’t read carefully — added the onions here.)

For the sauce: sauce onion in margarine or butter until translucent, blend in hot mustard and cream (I used whole milk) and boil. Season with salt and a “pinch” of sugar. Puree in blender and add fresh dill. Spicy, hot mustard really makes a tangy sauce and I loved it when served with the fish fillets.

I love to make this recipe and vary the ingredients quite a bit depending on what I have on hand. The recipe is always delicious with the crusty almond topping.

Lets start the new year on a healthy note, this baked fish recipe is a winner! Can’t wait to try additional German recipes adapted from this cookbook.