Bacalao con Plátano Verde (Cod with Green Plantain Crust) #FantasticalFoodFight

I love the Fantastical Food Fight coordinated by Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. For more information about the event, click here. This month, she chose the theme: bananas! She wrote, "The 21st of September is the International Banana Festival (which takes place in Fulton, KY and South Fulton, TN). Your recipe must contain bananas. It can be sweet, savory, or anything in between."

Because my inspiration can be a little out there, I emailed her to ask if she considered a plantain a banana...and if she would allow banana flour and/or banana leaves. She agreed to all of that. In the end, I opted to create my recipe with plantains and banana leaves. My adventure with the banana flour will come later.

The boys were really disappointed that I wasn't going to make a Banana Cream Pie, but I reminded them that it had to be a  new-to-the-blog recipe. I did promise to make them a pie soon though.

An InLinkz Link-up

Ingredients makes 4 to 6 servings

• 2 cod fillets (I had local Black Cod from my CSF - community supported fishery), approximately 1/2 to 3/4 pound each
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 t orange zest
• 1 t sesame seeds (I used black)
• 1/2 t freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 t freshly ground salt
• pinch of cayenne
• 2 green plantains, peeled and grated
• 2 T olive oil
• juice from 4 to 5 calamansi* + more for garnish
• 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
• Also needed: banana leaves for lining roasting pan

Calamansi is a called a Philippine lemon, but it's really a hybrid lime. You can usually find them in Asian markets. If you can't find them, just substitute with a regular lime or a mixture of lime and orange juice.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line roasting pan with banana leaves, thawed if purchased frozen. Place cod fillets in the pan, skin-side down. 

In a small bowl, stir together cumin, garlic, orange zest, sesame seeds, ginger, salt, and cayenne. Divide the spice mixture evenly between the fillets.

Divide the grated plantain between the two fillets, gently pressing to adhere the crust to the fish. Drizzle each fillet with 1 T olive oil and half of the calamansi juice.

Bake until the fillets are barely opaque and the topping is golden brown, approximately 20 to 22 minutes. You might have to adjust timing based on the thickness of your fish. They should flake easily when pressed lightly.  

Top with fresh cilantro and serve with more calamansi.