Rockfish is Sexy

Our neighbor is a fisher, hunter type, and a generous one too (Hi Dan!!). Last week he came over with about 5 pounds of rockfish he had caught over the weekend. We were so obliged to take it (thank you thank you thank you!!!). Rockfish is Maryland speak for striped sea bass, or sexy deliciousness.

I found a great recipe, and simplified it because I really can't cook (I just pretend). This was the most delicious "stuff your face" rendition of rockfish I've had in a long time. You can impress your friends and make them think you're a fabulous cook, because this is amazing.

Start off with about one and half to two pounds of fish.   I put mine in an 8x8 cooking dish, but the dish doesn't matter so long as the fish fits.

Here's the list of ingredients you'll need:

• 1/4 cup of butter, melted
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley, a fist full of fresh parsley, chopped well.
• Generous sprinkling of almond flour (about 1/4 cup)
• salt and pepper to taste
• and a dash of old bay because this is Maryland, and it's just wrong not to.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter and mix in the lemon juice.  Pour the mixture on your fish.
3. Sprinkle a generous amount of almond flour on top of your fish.  This turns into a yummy crust.  
4. Add your salt and pepper on top of the fish, along with your old bay.  I went light on the old bay, seemed to be just enough.
5. Sprinkle your parsley on top, and stick it in the oven for about 20 minutes uncovered.  Your fish is done when you can pull it apart with a fork, so if it doesn't flake easily, give it a few more minutes

This fellah took me 30 minutes of cooking to get this lovely flaking.  The thicker your fish, the longer it takes.  We served ours up with a huge salad with some lemon garlic salad dressing just so we didn't mess with the awesome flavors too much.  I probably would have fried up some spinach if I wasn't the only one in the house that likes it.   The fish however was a hit with everyone.