Main Dishes

Pesto Crusted Mahi Mahi with Blistered Tomatoes and Lemon Butter Sauce - 2022
​​​​​​​​​Recipe courtesy of Steve Levesque

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE FISH:
  • 4 six-ounce portions of mahi-mahi
  • 1/2 cup basil pesto
  • 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE TOMATOES:
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 whole clove garlic, peeled
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE SAUCE:
  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced shallot
  • 6 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, sliced into 8-10 pats
  • extra lemon wedges, for garnish
​
PREPARATION
FOR THE FISH:
  • In a medium bowl, mix pesto and breadcrumbs together until they form a coarse paste. Taste and add seasoning as necessary.
  • Place mahi-mahi portions on a large baking sheet.
  • Spread pesto mixture evenly across all four mahi-mahi portions. Use your fingers to pat the pesto mixture down into the fish to form an even crust.
  • Bake mahi-mahi at 375 for 12-16 minutes, until cooked through. Fish should reach an internal temperature of approximately 145 degrees fahrenheit.
FOR THE TOMATOES:
  • While the fish cooks, prepare the blistered tomatoes.
  • Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet. When oil simmers, add tomatoes and garlic clove and let cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes. The tomatoes will pop and sizzle a bit, so keep an eye out for flying oil or tomato juice.
  • Season tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste.
  • When tomatoes have begun to blister, give them a stir to turn them over so that the other sides can start to blister as well. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes without stirring, until tomatoes are softened and have charred and blistered on all sides.
FOR THE SAUCE:
  • Heat oil in a medium, nonreactive skillet over medium heat.
  • When oil simmers, add shallot and sauté for 1 minute until shallot has softened.
  • Whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and remove sauce from heat. Let cool 2-3 minutes, until sauce has stopped simmering but is still warm.
  • Whisk in butter 1 pat at a time, whisking constantly after each addition until the whole pat is melted into the sauce before adding another.
  • Continue whisking in butter pats until all butter is incorporated into the sauce. Serve immediately.
  • If your sauce breaks, don't worry - just give it a zap with an immersion blender to emulsify it again and bring it all back together.
TO ASSEMBLE:
Drizzle a bit of sauce on the bottom of a plate or pasta bowl. Place pesto crusted mahi-mahi on top of the sauce and top with blistered tomatoes. Add a lemon wedge for garnish and serve immediately.​

Serving suggestion: This pairs wonderfully with Orzo Pilaf!