Baked Skate

Skate (or ray) is a delicious, yet underused, fish. The flesh is creamy white, with a texture all its own; it's not flaky like most fish, but comes apart in long shreds when cooked. Don't be put off by the cartilage, and don't try to remove it before cooking. After it's done, the flesh can easily be lifted off the fan-like skeleton. I like this served with a colorful mix of sauteed vegetables and pasta.

• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 317 Calories

Ingredients

• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (Optional)
• 1 lemon (Optional)
• 1 ½ pounds skate wings, unfilleted
• 4 lemon slices (Optional)
• 4 sprigs fresh dill (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.

Step 2

Finely grate the zest from 1/2 of the lemon. Cut lemon in half, remove seeds, and juice it into a small bowl. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter in another small bowl.

Step 3

Rinse skate wings and pat dry. Cut into 4 pieces and place in the prepared baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with lemon zest, and pour lemon juice over top. Sprinkle with dill and then bread crumb mixture.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Continue to bake, checking in short increments, until fish is uniformly white throughout and can be easily lifted from the skeleton, up to 5 more minutes; do not overcook.

Step 5

Carefully move to a serving platter and garnish with lemon slices and dill sprigs.