Baked Mediterranean Catfish

Hey friends! Happy middle-of-the-week to y’all!

I am SO excited about today’s post because I’ve had the amazing opportunity to partner with The Catfish Institute to spread the word about how incredibly versatile U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is! Not only do I actually like catfish (which is not the case for all fish- I’m uber picky, as those who know me well know! It’s got to be very mild in flavor.), but several of my favorite men in all the world are catfish farmers in the Mississippi Delta! So I fully support the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry, one hundred percent. For those who may have any reservations about eating catfish, or think maybe it’s only good fried with tons of ketchup or tartar sauce, allow me to help open your eyes! (Because until I married a delta boy, I’ll be honest, I thought the same thing about catfish only being good fried!)

Today, I wanted to share a recipe that I actually insta-storied the making of over the weekend that I can’t stop thinking about. It was incredible! It was pretty easy (I was able to make it with two toddlers under foot) and it was super healthy. The topping was basically all veggies (plus a sprinkle of feta.)

Here’s the recipe for

BAKED MEDITERRANEAN CATFISH

4 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Fillets

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup zucchini, diced

½ cup red onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup mixed Mediterranean olives, halved

½ cup grape tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon capers

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup crumbled feta cheese for garnish

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Here’s what ya do. Very simple!

PREHEAT oven to 450ºF.

HEAT oil in sauce pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add zucchini, onion and garlic. Cook 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Remove from heat. Stir in olives, tomatoes, basil and capers.

LIGHTLY brush catfish fillets with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Place fillets into lightly oiled baking dish. Spoon equal amounts of vegetable mixture on top of each fillet. Bake 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Serve with crumbled feta cheese if desired.

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As promised on insta-stories (which are saved in my US CATFISH highlight, by the way) here are a couple of hacks that saved me several minutes. When you’ve got toddlers (and in just a matter of hours/days, I’ll be adding a newborn to that mix), you gotta save all the time you can!

Hack #1: Instead of buying fresh basil leaves and having to cut them up real tiny, I’ve found that Kroger sells freeze-dried basil in the produce section in a little cup. It smells and tastes super fresh, and you don’t have to worry about cutting, so that saved me a step there. I did, however, get some fresh basil leaves for garnish because I just think it’s pretty 😉

Hack #2: Also deals with freeze dried goods! In the next fridge over in the Kroger produce section, I’ve found freeze dried chopped garlic. Maybe I’m the only one, but peeling and dicing cloves of garlic is one of my least favorite things to do in the kitchen! This type of garlic has been a lifesaver for me. And one jar lasts months, even if you use lots of garlic like we do. Just keep it in the fridge!

Hack #3: Buy olives that are already sliced in half.

I just learned something about myself– I do not like cutting up small ingredients! ha! But seriously, those things I mentioned above helped me feel like I was breezing through the recipe.

We enjoyed this veggie-heavy, high-protein dish with a roll and a big salad. And everyone (including my two year old) ate it right up. And knowing that the fish was raised just about an hour away from where I live was the icing on the cake!

If you get to try this recipe, or any of the other incredible ones posted here (so many I want to try!) then be sure you look for mention of it being U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish on the fish you purchase. Otherwise, it is not going to taste right, nor will it be nearly as healthy, because of the poor conditions in which it was raised.

I hope y’all enjoy this whenever you get a chance to make it. Would love for you to come back here and tell me what you think! As always, thank you so much for stopping by today. Means the world! XO!

This post is sponsored by The Catfish Institute. All opinions, as always, are my own!