• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sarah's Cucina Bella | Quick and easy recipes from scratch

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Travel
  • Books
    • 2019 Reading List
    • 2018 Book Challenge
    • 2017 Book Challenge
  • Contact
    • Work with Me

Basil and Sunflower Tilapia

March 11, 2009 by Sarah Walker Caron 4 Comments

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
0shares

It’s gray and dismal outside my office window this morning. It feels more like 6 am than 7 am as the clouds hang thick. The grass, which is just starting to show signs of the brilliant hue that we’ll love for three seasons, looks muted and pathetic. This is not the sunny day I was hoping for. I should have been up at 6 a.m. … but when the alarm went off, I turned it off with the intention of getting up in a minute or two. I felt wide awake at the time. An hour and a half later, I rose.

Not too long ago, a late start like this would have spelled panic, agitation and worry for my day. It wasn’t that long ago that I was stifled by stress and overcome with disorganization. My office is still a mess, but me? I’ve learned the art and joy of being organized about everything I do. That feels good.

I also felt that feeling of being stifled not too long ago with food. I wasn’t sure if Paige would be okay eating fish, although I had no genetic reasons for being concerned. That fear felt like it limited and thwarted me with cooking. So when we gave her a few tastes here and there, it was like the sun peaked through the clouds and I took a much-needed breath.

This particular recipe began nagging and playing in my head when I spied another very fresh, very fresh, very pungent bunch of basil at the grocery store. Of course, I didn’t leave without it.

The taste has strong notes of sunflower, but the sauce has the texture of pesto. Did you know that sunflower seeds are one of the World’s Healthiest Foods? Very high in vitamin E and vitamin B-1, they have been shown in studies to lower cholesterol levels, lower high blood pressure, reduce the symptoms of asthma and even may protect against cancer. Basil, which is high in vitamin K, is also one of the World’s Healthiest Foods. Ultimately, the dish is pretty nutritious, fairly low in calories and delicious over rice.

Basil and Sunflower Tilapia

Basil and Sunflower Tilapia

Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups packed basil
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, , crushed
  • 1 to mato, (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter)
  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
  • salt
  • 1/2 lb tilapia

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Combine the basil, olive oil, garlic, tomato, sunflower seeds and a little salt in a food processor and process until it's roughly the texture of pesto.
  3. In an oven-safe casserole dish that is large enough to fit the filets of tilapia, but not too much larger, spread half of the sunflower-basil mixture. Place the tilapia on top and cover completely with the other half of the sunflower-basil mixture.
  4. Place in the oven and cook, 20-25 minutes until fish flakes easily. Flake all of the fish and stir together with the sauce.
© Sarah Walker Caron
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
0shares
Sarah Walker Caron
Sarah Walker Caron

Sarah Walker Caron is a cookbook author, freelance writer and founder of Sarah’s Cucina Bella. She is the author of several cookbooks including The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook and One-Pot Pasta, both from Rockridge Press. A single mother to two kids in middle school, Sarah loves nightly family dinners, juicy tomatoes plucked fresh from the vine and lazy days on the beach. She also adores reading and traveling.

Filed Under: dinner, Healthy Living and Cooking, New England Cuisine, Recipes, Seafood Tagged With: Olive oil, Sea salt

Previous Post: « Don’t Call Me a Foodie
Next Post: Making a Plan, Following a Plan »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cate O'Malley

    March 11, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    Mmmm, love tilapia. Just made some in a cooking class last night, and it’s on the menu here for tonight. There was extra leftover, so the instructor sent everyone home with fresh fish – how cool is that? Yours looks great – anything with fresh basil has got to be good.

    Reply
  2. Kalyn

    March 14, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    Love the sound of this; very interesting combination!

    Reply
  3. Jo

    March 15, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    wow! this really appeals to me… I love basil and sunflower seeds and tilapia! I am so going to have to try this one. thank you!

    Reply
  4. Sarah Caron

    March 16, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    Cate, that is awesome. So lucky.

    Kalyn, it’s definitely not a combination that you find often, but it’s really very good.

    Jo, let me know what you think!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Cookbooks by Sarah Walker Caron

Archives

Footer

Copyright Notice | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 Sarah's Cucina Bella | Quick and easy recipes from scratch on the Foodie Pro Theme