Recipe of the week 2/21/11 - 2/27/11 Simple baked Tilapia

[chitownmelli]

Mmmmm Tilapia. It's my new best friend. I had it for the first time at the Bonefish grill a little over a week ago, and then cooked it for myself a few days ago because I just wanted more soooo bad! It is a very mild, flaky white fish, with what I would call a very clean flavor. (not very fishy, for those who don't like fishy fish.... like me lol!)

With fish, I DO like it fried, however I also like it prepared simply, with maybe just a few spices so that you can really taste the sweetness of the fish and all that it has to offer, so that's why I chose to bake mine rather than fry it.


Melli's Simple Baked Tilapia
This serves two with sides


Ingredients:
2 Tilapia fillets
melted butter
salt and pepper
california pepper blend (penzy's) this is a few kind of cracked pepper, as well as tiny dehydrated red and green bell peppers. I'm sure any spice company would be fine if anyone else offers this.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400
brush fish with melted butter
sprinkle seasonings on fish - I would say that I went with a medium coating of spices, knowing that the fish was so mild, this was a good choice.

Bake for 15-20 minutes - it is ready when the fish flakes easily with a fork and has become opaque.


RESULTS
This fish was flaky, moist, sweet and delicious. The pepper gave it just a little bit of bite and extra flavor to keep it interesting. I am actually craving more of this as we speak lol!

Please everyone, feel free to add your own versions of baked Tilapia, and we do have another thread about Tilapia HERE where someone had been asking for ideas of how to cook it, for anyone who would like more ideas. Can't wait to see what everyone else does with this delicious fish!!!

[TiggerToo]

Citrus and Dill Baked Tilapia Fillets



4 Tilapia fillets, each about 1 inch thick and 6 oz in weight
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or melted butter or both
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp dried
Salt and pepper to taste

Oven at 450. Line 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment, arrange fish in pan. Combine all ingredients and pour over fish. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 12 to 15 min or until just cooked through. Serve spooning pan juices over fish with steamed rice and broccoli florets or any other vegetable. Next time i make it i will make double the marinade.

[TiggerToo]

Lemon Balm Pesto and Almond Crusted Tilapia



...this is straight from my blog so forgive the introduction. Okay, I know you are going to get sick of the pestos, but seriously, until winter comes, I have to keep thinking of ways to use my spices :o). I have a herb plant, called Lemon Balm. You use the plant for anything from drying and making teas, to tossing in salads. I thought, hey...lemon is great on fish, why not make a lemon balm pesto. So what I did was make the pesto, coat the fish in flour, then run it through this pesto, then roll in crushed almonds. BOY OH BOY, this was tasty. If you can't find lemon balm, you can use any fresh herb that goes great with fish.

1 large bunch of lemon balm
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
olive oil
1-2 cups crushed almonds
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs

For the almonds, take all almonds and crush very finely in a food processor. Transfer to a flat bowl. For the pesto, in a food processor, combine the lemon balm, garlic and cheese and a pinch of the salt. Blend until finely chopped. Add the olive oil and make into a very thick sauce. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pesto for topping off the fish. Then add the 2 eggs and blend again. This will act as the binding agent.

We used a wok to fry the fish up. You want to make sure you have enough oil in the wok, or pan to coat the fish when submerged. Take the fish and coat in flour, then coat in the pesto, then roll into the almonds. Add the fish to the pan and cook for about 7-9 minutes. Make sure the oil is very hot before you add the fish, otherwise the coating will get soggy. When the fish is done frying, add a dollop of the reserved pesto onto the top of it.