Monday, July 29, 2013

Good Eats: Parmesan-Broiled Tilapia

YUM.

I wanted to get some seafood in this week and boy did I ever.  This was nom-alicious and I absolutely loved it.  I originally found this recipe here and decided to try it/tweak it for multiple reasons. 

1. I love tilapia
2. The recipe stated it would be prep-to-table 10 minutes, max.
3. it has "parmesan cheese" in the title (if you haven't noticed by now...I love cheese)
 
 
So I had somewhat low expectations for this dish... mostly because my favorite dishes usually take far more work/preparation than 10 minutes (including cook time). Despite the fact that this recipe was the #1 most pinned recipe from the blog (which, by the way, you should totally read her stuff- she's got some great, simple recipes on there), I figured anything that simple couldn't be outstanding-ly amazing....
 
 
I was wrong.
 
Spectacular! The combination of flavors, the flaky texture of the tilapia, the browned cheesy goodness was enough to make my heart pitter patter... it was delicious. We served it alongside an assortment of corn, black beans, and bell peppers to create a southwestern-ish feel, as well as on a bed of yellow rice (next time, I will use brown rice, to be healthier... I decided on the rice at the last minute and this was all we had in our stockpile).
 
 
So here's how this all works... you crazy last minute meal planner ladies (like myself)...
 

Ingredients

3-4 Tilapia fillets (thawed if frozen.  I prefer to buy mine frozen because it's nice to have it in the freezer whenever I decide to add fish to our weekly meal plan... I don't cook enough fish to buy it fresh, and I refuse to go to the supermarket more than once a week (usually Sundays), so I don't want to make pit stops on my way home to pick up fresh fish.  I also am a coupon-ista and let's be real, when frozen tilapia fillets go on sale... I buy them.)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (I prefer the kind that either comes in bags--near the other shredded cheeses-- or the kind that comes in a glass jar...rather than the traditional parmesan cheese you think of when you think of spaghetti)
1/8 cup butter
1.5 tbsp. low-fat mayo
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 tsp dill
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
 
The original recipe yielded a lot less "topping" than what we wanted, which is why you will notice I doubled most everything (except the butter, fillets, and mayo--- I substituted extra Greek Yogurt instead of the extra mayo).  Maybe our fillets were just larger than the original recipe, but the amount worked well when I doubled what you see above.
 

Preparation

1. Turn oven to broil and place one rack on the highest possible rack setting in the oven.
2. Combine remaining ingredients (minus the tilapia, duh) in a small bowl.
3. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place tilapia in foil-lined pan.
4. Broil tilapia for 3 minutes on highest rack setting. Remove from oven.
5. Flip tilapia over so that the uncooked side is on top.  Divide the parmesan mixture from your bowl over the uncooked sides of the tilapia. 
6. Return to oven and broil for an additional 4 minutes. (topping should appear case-like, browned, and bubbly).
7. Remove and serve immediately with your favorite side items.
 
 
I loved it... I also loved how simple this recipe is... and really it only uses ingredients that you most likely already carry in your fridge/pantry (minus the tilapia, probably) so it is something you can quickly add to your weekly meal plan and shop ahead! (which, by the way, I am increasingly more obsessed with this concept because hey- there are more things in life than just meal planning and grocery shopping... this way I also can increase our intake of fresh fruits/veggies by planning the weekly meals according to what type of fresh veggies I am using and what their shelf-life in my fridge is.)
 
please excuse the steam that is presently blurring this photo... I literally took this bad boy immediately after pulling the tilapia from the oven and smacking it on a plate.
 

Happy Cooking, Ya'll,

 


 


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