Peanut-Crusted Fish Fillets with Fried Bananas (for MartianIceQueen)

This is one of the odder sounding recipes, perhaps, but a lot of the reviews mentioned that skeptical spouses, children & others who were grossed out by the concept ended up loving the dish. A lot of people warned that while absolutely delicious, the finished dish looks messy & completely inelegant - not something to make if you want to impress someone with fancy food presentation.

Personally, I think plaintains (though you'd want them ripe) would work well with this dish, too. Very popular dish - extremely high marks. Suggestions include: use a mix of macadamia nuts & peanuts; mix in a small amount of bread crumbs with nut mixture so it clings to fish better; make sure to chop nuts very finely; increase cumin (lots of people said this).

• 2 unripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• two 6- to 8-ounce skinless flounder or orange roughy fillets
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup finely chopped unsalted peanuts
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice plus lime wedges as an accompaniment

Peel the bananas and cut them lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a large ovenproof skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, in the fat sauté the banana slices for 1 minute on each side, or until they are golden, and transfer them with a spatula to a plate. Pat the fish dry and sprinkle it with the cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Have ready in separate shallow dishes the egg beaten with the salt and the peanuts. Dip each fillet in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, and dredge it in the peanuts. To the skillet add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, heat it over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, and in it sauté the fillets for 3 minutes. Turn the fillets, top them with the banana slices, and sauté them for 2 minutes more. Drizzle the fish with the lime juice, transfer the skillet to the middle of a preheated 450°F. oven, and bake the fish for 5 minutes. Transfer the fillets with a spatula to 2 heated plates and serve them with the lime wedges.