Baked Lemon Swai Fish

It has been a long long time since I posted. Let's just leave it at that and move onto this delicious light summer dish.

Several months ago I discovered Swai fish in my freezer section. I love fish. But I live in landlocked Utah and fresh, affordable fish is a little outside my budget. But this fish makes a regular appearance on my table. My family loves it. My pocketbook loves it and I want to share some recipes for this very buttery tasting white fish that I have been proselytizing to every one I know.

I need to have a recipe or two that I can share with my converts or soon to be converts. I purchase this fish in a bag of 4 fillets. ( I buy two bags for one meal). Each fillet is individually shrink wrapped and so this makes a perfect purchase for those cooking for one or two. The bag costs me around $4. The fillets are small. Seriously so cheap for fish and it is full of flavor no matter how you cook it up.

Now, to be fair, Swai is at the center of a global fish war dubbed "The Catfish Wars." I know fish is such a controversial subject so, here is a great article on Swai as well as "The Catfish Wars." http://www.chefs-resources.com/Is-Vietnamese-Swai-and-Basa-Safe. I will let you judge for yourself. There are plenty of additional resources at the bottom of the article.

I for one feel that any bad press may be merely propaganda in an all out trade war.There is plenty of evidence to prove that Swai is safe and comes from well vetted sources if you are buying from a trusted supplier. There is also plenty of evidence that points towards the U.S. catfish industry using scare tactics to protect its interests. For now I am going to keep eating this delicious fish. It is simple to cook and brings a healthy alternative to red meat to my table.

Here is one version of Swai.
This recipe can easily be altered per serving. (That is why I love it).

8 thawed Swai fillets
Olive Oil ( I used an herb infused olive oil)
Seasoning mix. I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (that stuff is amazing on everything)
1/2 lemon thinly sliced.
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

Lay frozen fillets on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with seasoning mix. (I left the seasoning mix off a couple of fillets for my daughter who is allergic to cayenne pepper which is in the seasoning mix I use. It still tastes great.
Sprinkle with Asiago cheese.
Lay lemon slices on top of each fillet.

Bake 14 to 18 minutes. Fish will be done when it's opaque and flakes easily with a fork.