Baked Stuffed Haddock Recipe

Have you ever had haddock? As recipe developer and food photographer Jennine Bryant describes it, "Haddock is quite a meaty and flaky fish with a subtle, sweet flavor." She goes on to say that "It isn't too 'fishy' or overpowering," and adds "It's less oily than fish like salmon, but still quite tender."

You know what's even more delicious than baked haddock, though? A seafood two-fer of haddock stuffed with crab! Bryant explains, "I live close to the coast in Norfolk, England, and we get a lot of beautiful fresh crab. In fact, the area is quite famous for crab, especially Cromer crab." Since she loves to make use of local produce and takes her inspiration from what's in season, she says, "I thought I would combine [fresh crab] with the haddock after seeing it in the market." If you prefer using a different type of shellfish, that would work, too. As Bryant suggests, "You could definitely stuff the haddock with lobster or shrimp, I think that would taste lovely."

To make this dish, you'll first need to make a trip to your local fish market, or at least to a grocery store with a decent seafood counter. Pick up a couple of haddock fillets, and also a little bit of crab meat with which to stuff them. In addition to the seafood, you will need breadcrumbs, fresh dill, a lemon, and some olive oil. And of course, some salt and pepper. That's it! Not a very complicated recipe, and yet it makes for quite an elegant entrée.

Set the oven to 350 F so it can heat up while you prepare the fish. First step: the stuffing. Mix the crab meat with the breadcrumbs, then stir in some snipped dill and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Take a sharp knife and slice a nice deep pocket into each haddock fillet, but don't cut all the way through! That's not how pockets work. Take a spoon and stuff half of the crab filling into each fillet.

Put both stuffed fillets into a baking dish big enough to fit them in without crowding. If there is any extra stuffing that didn't fit inside the fish, Bryant tells us, "You could definitely bake any leftover filling in the dish alongside the haddock [or] you could also put it on top of the haddock."

Drizzle the fillets with olive oil, then season them with salt and pepper. Bake them for 25 to 30 minutes. When they are done, they will be opaque and flaky-textured.

Bryant recommends that this dish be served with fresh vegetables or perhaps a fresh green salad, but cautions, "Nothing too heavy or overpowering as you don't want to lose the delicate flavors of the haddock and crab." For extra flavor, she also recommends that the fish be served topped with a lemon-butter sauce such as the one she makes for her fried basia recipe.

As far as a beverage to pair with this delightful dish, Bryant suggests, "White wine is always a great beverage to pair with fish, a Pinot Grigio would work well with this as it is quite a light fish dish."