Almond-Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi

I hope everyone is safe from Hurricane Sandy this evening over the next few days.  We are experiencing a real cold snap here this week.  It went down to 37 degrees here last night and its supposed to go to 35 tonight...to think we were still wearing shorts and flip flops a couple of days ago!  I'm not complaining though -- so many people have it so much worse.  This weekend I picked up some fresh Mahi Mahi filets and decided to fix those for dinner tonight.  Last time I made them, I marinated them first.  This evening I decided to skip that step and just top and bake them.  I decided to make Almond-Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi so I quickly put together a little topping to crust the fish with.  I lightly roasted some whole almonds and then very coarsely chopped them in my little Magic Bullet (I like using it for small quantities like the 1/2 cup of nuts I chopped in it tonight).  I added some unsweetened coconut and spices and also added a couple of teaspoons of Swerve sweetener just to ever so lightly give the flavor that the coconut was very lightly sweetened and give it a more tropical flavor.  I also sliced some Meyer lemons that are sweeter than regular lemons to use as both a bed to bake the fish on as well as to squeeze on after they were cooked to give the dish a fresh, light, not too tart citrus flavor to compliment the almond and coconut flavors.  Meyer lemons taste like a cross between a tangerine and a lemon and look like orange colored lemons.  It turned out really good -- even hubby liked it and he isn't a big fish fan, generally speaking.  I snapped a few photos below for you to see as well as the little recipe I put together.  Enjoy!

Voila!

BOOM!

Almond-Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi

INGREDIENTS:

Mahi Mahi filets, approximately 1 lb (preferably wild caught)
Olive oil or coconut oil (to oil baking sheet with and brush fish with)
2 lemons (or Meyer lemons or tangerines), sliced thinly (I used Meyer lemons)

Topping
1/2 cup roasted unsalted almonds, very coarsely ground
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Dash of cayenne, optional
2 teaspoons Swerve sweetener (or favorite sweetener equivalent to 2 teaspoons sugar)
2 tablespoons butter, melted 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients well until crumbly; set aside. Lightly brush a foil covered baking sheet with olive oil or coconut oil; lay  lemon/tangerine slices on the baking sheet as a bed to place fish filets on; brush tops of filets with oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper; top with additional lemon/tangerine slices.  

Place in oven and bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes.  Remove fish from oven and flip filets over, keeping only the lemon slices on the bottom.  Divide the topping evenly between the fish filets and lightly press the topping on top of the fish.  Return fish to the oven and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes (depending on thickness).  Remove fish from oven when topping is golden brown and fish is cooked (fish is cooked when it flakes easily); let sit for about 5 minutes to complete the cooking.  Serve immediately.