Flounder with Cilantro Curry Topping & Toasted Coconut

I'm always looking for new fish recipes and this is yet another great one from Cooking Light.  Sometimes as we all know though, recipes don't always go quite as planned.

I had prepped the topping, and everything was going smoothly until I went to saute the fish. And it all fell apart. Literally.

I'm still not sure what I did wrong, but when I went to flip the fillets, they crumbled. Both of them. So I decided to go ahead and break up the pieces completely. I laid out brown rice and then layered the fish and then the topping, and then the coconut.

And despite the big mishap and the not so beautiful or neat presentation, this dish was fantastic. The coconut, curry and cilantro are perfect together. There is spice from the jalapeno, bite from the cilantro, sweetness from the coconut and of course the curry adds a whole other dimension. Hubby and I agreed that the broken up fish pieces worked really well.

Flounder with Cilantro Curry Topping & Toasted Coconut

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

4 (6-ounce) flounder fillets

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut
1 cup cilantro sprigs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 jalapeño pepper, halved and seeded

Lemon wedges (optional)
 
Preheat broiler.

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over fish. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Place the coconut on a baking sheet; broil for 2 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, cilantro, and next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Spoon 2 tablespoons cilantro mixture over each fillet; sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.