Tilapia

I do not enjoy “fishy” tasting food, but Kelly turned me onto tilapia a while back and it is now a staple food around our house. It has no fishy taste and cooks up very flaky and moist when done right. It also picks up flavors very well, so can be used in many different ways. Plus, it is quite healthy for you, so that doesn’t hurt.

What I’m going to do is list a few of the different ways that I’ve tried preparing it. The basic steps are going to be the same, just the ingredients will be different (for the most part). Each recipe will be for 2 servings (ie. when I fix it for Kelly and myself), but can easily be expanded by just increasing the ingredients accordingly. I’ll also give some side suggestions in the following post to expand each into a meal. This is an actual example of how to eat very healthy and enjoy what you are eating.


Pineapple Tilapia
2 Tilapia filets
1 can of pineapple chunks
Canola oil

Directions:
Separate your pineapple chunks and their juice into separate containers.
Add your oil to a pan and bring it to a medium heat.
Place your tilapia into the pan.
As soon as the bottom half is a little thawed, flip the filets, making sure to put them in the oil (not directly onto the pan).
Pour 2/3 of your pineapple juice into the pan.
Let this simmer, cooking your fish and reducing the pineapple juice.
Once the juice has become a more syrupy mixture, carefully flip each filet once more.
Add the rest of your pineapple juice, and reduce until you have a nice, syrupy sauce and very moist fish.
Plate (I usually pour half the sauce over each filet).

Recommended Sides: Spicy Pineapple/Red onion rice & Sautéed green beans

--------

Lemon-garlic Tilapia
2 Tilapia filets
1 Whole lemon
Garlic salt
Canola oil

Directions:
Add your oil to a pan and bring it to a medium heat.
Place your tilapia into the pan.
Let it cook until it starts to brown a little and then carefully turn it over.
Sprinkle on your garlic salt (to taste) and pour 2/3 of the lemon juice over the fish.
Let cook until the other side starts to brown up.
Plate, drizzling the remaining lemon juice over the filets.

Recommended sides: Steamed broccoli (Red pepper) and couscous (cook according to package and season w/ Creole or garlic salt)

--------

Garlic Tilapia
2 Tilapia filets
1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
Olive oil

Directions:
Add your oil to a pan and bring it to a medium heat.
Place your tilapia into the pan.
Turn when the bottom starts to brown.
Add your garlic.
Serve when your garlic and the other side of the filet have browned.
Make sure to get all the garlic bits in the pan.

Recommended sides: Curry coconut squash, steamed broccoli (Lawry’s Lemon Pepper or Lemon juice), and/or Spicy Pineapple/Red onion Rice

--------

Lime/Tequila Tilapia
2 Tilapia filets
1 Whole lime
1 shot of tequila
Cumin
Cilantro

Directions:
Add your oil to a pan and bring it to a medium heat.
Place your tilapia into the pan.
When the bottom starts to brown, turn the fish.
Pour on 2/3 of your lime juice and the tequila.
Sprinkle on cumin and cilantro to taste.
When the other side is brown, plate, drizzling the remaining lime juice over the filets.

Recommended sides: Brown rice topped w/ black bean salsa


Added tips:
Be careful when turning your tilapia. As mentioned, this is a very flaky fish, so you want to watch for it to stick to the pan. This can cause your filets to tear up very quickly. If you make sure the fish is initially in the given oil, it will decrease this, but be careful when turning just the same.
I tend to buy bags of individually packaged tilapia breasts (usually at least 6 per bag). The recipes I’ve listed start with these taken out of the bags by running a little hot water over each side, cutting the tops off, and just squeezing them out directly into the pan, frozen.