Potato Crusted Haddock with a Southwestern Salad with a Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Potatoes - yumm! Haddock - yumm! Salad chock full of veggies - yumm! That's right, this meal makes me happy. It's a generally simple meal but adds just enough excitement to make it stick out. Haddock is a generally plain and simple fish, but crusting it with garlic mashed potatoes adds an interesting flavor and the contrasting textures work out very well.

Then to add color and excitement we have a southwestern salad that could nearly stand on its own as a meal. It has beans, veggies, chips, and lettuce all at once. Make a big salad (oh, Elaine) and then take the leftovers to work for a healthy, yet delicious and filling, lunch for the week.

Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: medium-easy

Potato Crusted Haddock
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1.5 tbsp butter
1/2 c skim or 1% milk
1 lb Haddock
1/2 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Wash your potatoes and cut them into chunks that are 1-1.5 inch cubes. I prefer to wash the potatoes well but leave the skin on (for nutrition as well as taste) but if you strongly prefer you could peel them as well.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let the potatoes simmer for 15 minutes. Drain well and then return the potatoes to the pan and keep the pan on low heat.

Also at this point get your oven preheating to 450 degrees.

Mash the potatoes with a masher. Add the salt and pepper and continue to stir well. Slowly add the 1.5 tbsp butter (it works best if it is already at room temperature) and the milk. Mix and mash until they have the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Grease a glass baking dish or baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the Haddock fillets on the dish and drizzle with the olive oil. Spread the minced garlic evenly over all of the fillets so they have a nice garlic topping. Finally, use a large spoon to crust each fillet with the potatoes. If you have extra that's okay, but make sure they have a very generous crusting on top.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over all of the fillets, on top of the potato mixture. Use a spoon to lightly tamp down the cheese into the potato mixture so it won't burn on top by itself.

Bake the fillets for 8-10 minutes or until nearly done. Then broil for 2-3 minutes. The potato crust should be crispy and lightly browned on top.

Southwestern Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Time: 20 minutes

This salad is good on its own, but the dressing truly makes it terrific. The cilantro lime vinaigrette is light, tangy, and refreshing. Even if you're not into southwestern salads make this for any other salad to spice it up!

Ingredients:
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 tbsp shallot, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

2 corn on the cob
1 bag romaine lettuce
1/2 c. green onions, diced
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 can black beans
2 large tomatoes, cut into bite-sized wedges
1 dozen blue corn tortilla chips

Put the lime juice, sugar, wine vinegar, olive oil, 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, garlic cloves, shallot, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Whisk well until all of the ingredients are well blended. This will be your dressing, but for now set it to the side. (This is all of the ingredients above the space.)

Shuck the corn as your grill heats up. Grill the corn for 10-12 minutes or until charred. Let it cool until you can touch it and slice off the kernels.

Place the romaine in a large bowl and add the corn, onions, 1/4 c. cilantro, and tomatoes. Drain and rinse the beans, then drain them again. Add the beans to the romaine bowl. Toss well.

Drizzle the salad dressing over the entire salad and toss again to make sure the dressing is distributed evenly. Do not use all of it if it turns out to be too much.

Once the salad is tossed and ready to be eaten place the blue corn tortilla chips around the edges to make a "bowl" type look.