St. Peter’s Fish with Herbs

St. Peter's Fish with Herbs

June 29: Feast Day of St. Peter and St. Paul

What a blessed opportunity for us to have traveled to Rome to celebrate Highlander’s 50th birthday last spring!  Our pilgrimage included a tour to the awe-inspiring St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Inside the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica, where Roman Catholicism’s first pope is entombed, Islander traditionally venerated his famous bronze statue by rubbing his foot.  We also paid a solemn visit to Mamertine Prison, where St. Peter was chained along with St. Paul (with whom he shares this feast day) to a dungeon pillar as they awaited martyrdom by crucifixion and beheading.  We honor these saints’ memory and their steadfast devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ with a customary feast day fish dish flavored with herbs.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf and Catholic Culture)

Ingredients

  • 4-6 fresh fish fillets (John Dory, tilapia or other fish)
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs (we used Japanese panko)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ¼ cup butter, melted

Directions

Clean and pat dry the fish fillets. In a shallow dish, squeeze the lemon and mix in the dried herbs. Marinate the fish fillets in the lemon-herb mixture on both sides, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Combine the salt, pepper, flour and breadcrumbs in a flat dish. Lightly beat an egg.

St. Peter's Fish with Herbs

Dip the fish fillets in beaten egg, then dredge them in the flour-breadcrumb mixture. Fry in a skillet with the melted butter. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

St. Peter's Fish with Herbs

Notes

  • St. Peter was a fisherman by trade, therefore, many recipes associated with him are of fish. But he also became a disciple, according to the bible (Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17): “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
  • The Feast Day of the Conversion of St. Paul is January 25.
  • Thanks to Lisa L. for the melamine fish platter from Fehmarn, a German island in the Baltic Sea.