A week ago, a friend of mine sent me an image of a package of fish fillets that were labeled “Icelandic Ocean Perch”. My friend asked me if I had ever tried this fish and I hadn’t – until last night. The labeling indicated that the fish could be purchased at Costco and off I went to buy and try.

Each package contains about 8 skin-on fillets. I am a hungry guy and I cooked up two fillets for myself. Opening the package, there was no overbearing fish smell (rather a pleasant one), the fillets have no pin bones and all one has to do is give them a rinse and pat-dry.

According to a producer of this fish, it is wild-caught, sustainable and abundant around the waters of Iceland and in season from April to September. Ocean perch feed mostly on crustaceans, which explains why this fish is so tasty!

Mild in flavour yet firm texture and I like that the skin is on (I like crispy fish skin). To achieve crispy skin on your fish, a hot skillet or the broiler in the oven should do the trick. The grill will work but only try if you’re experienced with grilling fish.

I opted for simplicity and pan-seared the fish and served with a portion of lemony rice, some steamed broccolini and a wedge of lemon for an extra kick.

Have you heard or tried Icelandic ocean perch? Will you try it? Let me know!

Icelandic Ocean Perch

Recipe by Peter MinakiCourse: FeaturedDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 8 fillets of Icelandic Ocean Perch

• extra-virgin olive oil

• sea salt

• ground pepper
  

• wedge of lemon for garnish

Directions

• Gently rinse your fillets and pat dry with paper towel. Drizzle both sides of the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  
• Place a large non-stick skillet on your stovetop over medium-high heat. Add two or three tablespoons of oil into your pan.
• Place 4 fillets skin side down first and saute for about 3 minutes or until skin is crispy. Carefully flip and saute the other side for a minute or two. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
• Repeat with remaining 4 fillets.
• Serve on a bead of rice (try my spanakorizo) and some steamed vegetables (I like broccolini) and a wedge of lemon per portion.