This is one of the first recipes I ever used with tilapia. Orginally, it was something I saw on Martha Stewart. But you know how Martha is. Her version calls for Chilean sea bass, or rather – the ‘very best Chilean sea bass’. Cut to me sitting on my Ikea sofa with a leaky roof and two under two, and well- fancy fish wasn’t exactly in the budget. Even if I’d been flush with cash, a special trip to the fish market wouldn’t have been a priority between co-op preschool shifts and hundreds of diapers a week. I needed a good, inexpensive substitute that I could find at the local grocery store.
Hello tilapia!
Mediterranean Tilapia
Ingredients:
- 4 5-7 oz. fresh tilapia fillets (I like Regal Springs tilapia found at Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Marsh Food stores and Jewel grocery stores.)
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes*
- 1/2 – 1 cup olives – any kind you like – greek, black, green, etc.
- ¼ cup capers
- 2-3 cloves crushed garlic (or like 20, whatever you like!)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
- Cut the tomatoes and olives in half and cook with garlic, capers and olive oil for 5 minutes on medium heat – until tomatoes start to soften.
- Add fish and cover, cooking for 5 more minutes until fish flakes with a fork.
How easy is that? (The original recipe called for stove top cooking, followed by a stint in the oven. Bah! You can do it all in the skillet.) This dish is great with couscous to sop up the sauce.
*The cherry tomatoes on the vine have amazing flavor for this dish. However, they’re pricey so I usually opt for the less expensive clam shell pack of grape tomatoes. If you grow your own – even better!
Pingback: Wine Pairings for Tilapia « Regal Springs Tilapia Blog