Serves 4 to 6 • Prep Time 15 minutes • Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1¼ cups panko or coarsely textured breadcrumbs, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
½ teaspoon crushed dried thyme
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 tilapia fillets (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size pieces
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. In a shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, herbs and oil. In a deep bowl, toss fish and mustard to coat well. Dredge fish pieces in the breadcrumb mixture and transfer to prepared baking sheet, leaving an inch or so between pieces.

3. Bake until cooked through but moist and tender, about 10 minutes.

Note: try this dish alongside the Zucchini Fritters for a fresh twist on fish and chips

Thrifty Cook Quick Tip
Save money as you use up almost-stale bread by making your own panko-style breadcrumbs. (This is also a great use for leftover crusts cut off your kids’ sandwiches.) Simply place chunks of “day-old” bread in the food processor and pulse into coarse crumbs.

Excerpted from Italian Home Cooking, by Julia della Croce. Recipes reprinted with permission by Kyle Books. Copyright © 2010.