OMG Tilapia — You Have to Try This
Posted on January 21, 2008
Last Monday, I had a total kitchen disaster trying to make a blood orange tilapia. Meanwhile, Cate at Sweetnicks hit the culinary jackpot with her tilapia. Not only did she rave on her blog about it, but she raved to me about it. So, that recipe ended up at the top of my “must try” list.
On Friday, I ended up making it. I just had to try it and it’s a darn good thing I did. This recipe is beyond amazing and the sauce is just delectable. Best of all, it’s low in calories and fat so when you are clamoring for seconds, you won’t totally kill your diet. Good news all around. This is so totally going to be a frequent repeat in my house.
Here’s the recipe, as I made it:
Based on a recipe from Pam Anderson, Cooking Light, MARCH 2004 via Sweetnicks
3/4 cup chicken stock (look for a low-calorie one like Emeril’s)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons drained capers (the original recipe used green peppercorns)
1 teaspoon butter
6 tilapia fillets (about 1 1/2 lbs total)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
Lemon wedges (optional)
Whisk together chicken stock, lemon juice and capers. Lightly crush the capers.
Season the tilapia fillets with salt and pepper. Then dredge them in flour, shaking off any excess. Set aside.
In a large skillet, melt one teaspoon of butter over medium heat. Turn up the heat to medium-high and brown the butter (it should be a golden brown color). Add the fillets to the pan. Sauté for about 3 minutes on each side (they are done when the fish flakes easily with a fork). Add olive oil to the pan as needed if the pan becomes too dry. Transfer fillets to plates.
Pour the broth mixture into pan, being careful of splatter — it will instantly boil, steam and hiss. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits. Continue heating and stirring until the mixture is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove the pan from the burner and whisk in two teaspoons of butter. Spoon two tablespoons of mixture, give or take, over each fillet.
Serve with rice (or as I did, a nice rice/pea mixture with a bit of lemon juice and pepper).
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4 Responses to “OMG Tilapia — You Have to Try This”
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That sounds really tasty. I wonder if it would work with a gluten-free flour mix?
I’m just starting to learn to cook fish.
Sally, I am sure it would work with a gluten-free alternative, but am not sure what particular flour you should use. I popped over to Gluten Free Girl to see if she might weigh in and help you out though. *fingers crossed*
Of course I popped over! I love being able to help. For dredging fish, I love sorghum flour. It’s the closest in texture and density to wheat, and it works like a charm. Sweet rice flour also works really well.
But it’s always worth just playing, as well!
Oh – I have made this recipe before and I LOVE it! I have tilapia in the fridge for tomorrow night. May have to change how I make it as I had forgotten about this recipe.