This polenta coated fish recipe is inspired by the restaurant “Threecoins Italian Trattoria”. Why? Well, I can’t tell you how many times I have paneed an ingredient with either breadcrumbs, or panko breadcrumbs. This restaurant did things a bit differently, they coated there squid with polenta. And it worked an absolute treat. Is it better than regular breadcrumbs?…..I think I might leave that answer for you to decide. But it was certainly a refreshing idea, and I love it when an ingredient is used in a way I never would have thought of.
I would describe the texture as not necessarily crispier than regular breadcrumbs, but slightly crunchier (and yes I think that there is a difference between the 2). You may notice that the polenta doesn’t stick on as well after being cooked, but it’s no big deal. I flavoured the polenta with a bit of salt and pepper, some dried oregano and some grated parmesan, just because I feel it needs a bit of extra kick in flavour. And it turned out beautifully, in fact, it worked out so well that I used it on other seafood, and ended up having a polenta coated seafood platter.
I just served the fish with some simple dressed potatoes which taste awesome by the way. I always like serving fish with potatoes because you get a good mixture of protein and carbs. And the potatoes do a great job at filling you up. That with some fresh greenery and you can’t go wrong.
Now for those who follow me and are wondering how the pulled pork quest is going. It is going great so far!! I already have a few bloggers on board, they know who they are and I will be revealing all of their wonderful blogs soon. However, I’m hoping I can get up to 10 bloggers to be apart of the collaboration. If you want to know more about this, then click here to see my pulled pork post and you will know what I am talking about.
Thanks so much for viewing this post. Oh, and just one thing before we move on, if there is anything you would like me to make, don’t be afraid to leave it in the comment section below. I respond to every single comment so please feel free to share any suggestions. Much love to you guys and I hope you have an awesome day!

Polenta Coated Fish with Dressed Potatoes
I have paneed fish with breadcrumbs so many times, I thought this polenta coated fish would be a nice change.
Ingredients
Dressed potatoes
- 1 kg of potatoes peeled and cut into inch thick dices
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 and a half tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 red chilli de-seeded and chopped
- 50 g of capers roughly chopped
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Lemon and sour cream sauce
- 100 g of sour cream
- 1 and a half tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Salad
- 1 cucumber
- 100 g of cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 shallot peeled and thinly sliced
Polenta coated fish
- 4-6 White fish fillets such as cod or hadock
- 1 cup of polenta
- 10 g of parmesan grated
- 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup of milk
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
Potatoes
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Put approximately 5 litres of water, your 2 teaspoons of salt and your diced potatoes in a pot. Bring the water to a boil then turn the heat down to about low-medium heat. Gently boil the potatoes for a further 10-15 minutes until cooked through (you can use a knife to test if they are cooked or not).
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Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot, along with your olive oil, lemon juice, red chilli, half of your chopped capers, half of your chopped parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper.
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Toss/mix it all together until the potatoes are evenly coated. Set aside.
Lemon and sour cream sauce
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Mix the lemon, sour cream, the other half of the capers and the other half of the parsley you left behind when making the potatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl.
Salad
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Use a peeler to peel away thin, long slivers of cucumber. Keep peeling until you get to the core. Peel away all of the sides of the cucumber until you are only left with the core. Put your slithers of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and shallots in a bowl or container and mix together. Set aside.
Polenta coated fish
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Mix the polenta, parmesan, dried oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a bowl or on a plate.
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Use a fork to whisk the egg and milk together in a bowl.
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Use some kitchen paper to quickly dab the fish just to get rid of some of the moisture.
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Dip your fish fillets in the egg mixture, then transfer them to the bowl with the polenta mixture. Make sure those fish fillets are coated all over then shake of the excess when finished.
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Pre-heat a preferably non-stick pan to medium-high heat. Add your vegetable oil and then carefully lay your fish fillets down in the pan. Fry for 2 minutes on each side and then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
To serve
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Serve some of the potatoes in the middle of the plate, place a piece of fish on top. Place a handful of your salad on top of your fish, then top that salad with some the sour cream mixture. Serve with a wedge of lemon and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- If you want to just use breadcrumbs instead, that is totally fine just replace the polenta with breadcrumbs.
Enjoy the recipe!
Want to see another fish recipe? Check out my beer battered fish fingers
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Love the crunchy coating on fish and also your presentation ! Good job !
Thank you very much!
This is absolutely beautiful Nick!! The polenta is a brilliant idea–texture and the slight corn taste. A wonderful dish to make for friends around the table! thanks!
Thanks for your awesome comments Rhonda. Yes the polenta idea worked out surprisingly well (:
Great dish!!
Thanks!! (: