In keeping with my efforts to eat healthier, I am trying to make friends with fish fillets. I am all for a good lobster tail or some shrimp cocktail. I am totally up of a real crab cake, but fillets of fish and I haven’t always gotten along. I need a sauce and some good veggies to go with it to even get close, and add some pasta and I’m usually game to try it. I was searching through books and articles, looking for some inspiration for cod that was on sale at my favorite local fish counter. When I got there, my fish buddy Louis showed it to me and I opted for the tilapia. Which brings me to this point….try to match your recipe in your plan to whatever type of fish looks best and freshest that day. It was easy to opt for the tilapia since it looked better that day.
I also try to get what’s on sale, since spending a ton of money on a recipe I might not like at all would probably discourage me from trying new things. So, a good idea is to try out a new recipe on a more reasonably priced fish, then move up to the meatier (and more expensive) types of fillets. That way you will have mastered a dish and will be less likely to make a costly mistake. This entire meal is tilapia with tomato butter sauce over orzo pasta and sautéed broccolini. It’s lemon and garlic notes with a nice sweetness from the tomatoes. I was not sure where this was going to end up, but I think I’ve finally found a sauce that will go with shell fish and fillets and be just as tasty with either.
I had white wine open, lots of lemons, tomato and broccolini I had picked up over the weekend, and 2 tilapia filets. All good things to build a nice and light dinner around. To start, I blanched the broccolini for about 3 minutes in salted and boing water. This takes some of the bitterness out of it. Take it out of the boiling water and shock (stop the cooking process) into a bowl of ice water. You can let it hang out there for a bit while you work on the rest of the dish. To finish, drain it, and sauté in 1-2 tbsp. of butter, 1 clove of minced garlic and lemon zest. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt and couple turns of fresh cracked pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, finish with fresh lemon juice.
For the fish, I seasoned it simply with salt and pepper, both sides of course. I sautéed it in 2 tbsp. of butter, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, about 1/4 tsp dried thyme and a smashed garlic clove. Heat all that up over medium high heat. I added some lemon zest at this point too, plus a little salt and pepper. Next, add the fish and cook until golden on both sides, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the fish to a plate, you will put it back in later to heat up to serve. Time for the sauce. I added about 1/3 a cup of the white wine, off the heat and let it reduce and deglaze the pan. I added about 10-12 cherry tomatoes I had, cut in half. I happened to have a mix of colors, but just get what looks best. Tomatoes in February are always blah, but this wakes them up a bit. Let that cook down until the wine is almost all evaporated. I thought I needed a little more liquid, so I added about 1/3 cup of chicken stock since I had some open in the fridge. That helped the tomatoes soften up a little bit more – exactly what I was looking for. All that was left to add was lemon juice and a couple more pats of butter. Turn the heat to low, add the lemon juice first, then whisk in the butter one pat at a time. The sauce should thicken up slightly. Taste for salt and pepper and add which ever you think it needs. Add the fish back for 3-4 minutes just to heat it back up.
I didn’t take a bunch of pics since I wasn’t sure this was gong to be THIS good! I had to get this down while it was still fresh in my mind though. To serve, make some orzo pasta or rice and put that down on the plate first. Add a piece of fish and top with the tomatoes and a little extra sauce. Add the broccolini, or this would be really good with fresh green beans if that’s more your speed. This would also be very good with some shrimp and angel hair pasta. Finally a fish dish I can be friends with. 🙂 Enjoy!
Amy’s Kitchen 