Tandoori Tilapia

Serves 2
Can be Doubled| Can be Halved

Tilapia is an easy standby fish because it has such a mild taste and picks up just about any flavor you use with it. I’ve cooked it in dozens of different ways, and this Indian style version is my latest rendition. Yogurt, ginger and garlic are typical ingredients Indian restaurants use in a tandoori marination before cooking the meat, fish or vegetable at hand in a round clay oven known as a tandoor. I’ve used the same tastes in this recipe and lightened it up to make it more Tablespoon friendly. Of course, I don’t have a tandoor at home, but I have to say my stovetop version is pretty darn good!     ~Shivani

Ingredients:

1 pound of tilapia
1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of garam masala
1/4 teaspoon of red chili powder
chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Mix together all of the ingredients except fish and cilantro.

Add fish and marinate for 30 minutes.

Warm a nonstick grill pan or nonstick regular pan over high heat and coat with cooking spray.

Lower heat and add fish. Cook for 4 minutes per side- times might vary depending on thickness of fillets.

If desired, squeeze with a little lemon juice, and top with cilantro.

Serving Suggestions:

Try with a warmed whole-wheat pita or a Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla. The zucchini I posted a few weeks ago is an ideal veggie side.

Spice Coated Tilapia

Spice Coated Tilapia
Serves 2
Can be Doubled| Can be Halved
Vegetarian Substitutes

This recipe is all Mahir. I was getting ready to coat our tilapia with our usual fajita seasoning mix when he stopped me and said he wanted to come up with something. We had recently dined at an Italian restaurant where we ate the most delicious fennel crusted chicken, and we both were craving that fennel taste so he used that as a starting point. Since our cupboard is replete with Indian spices and fennel is also used in Indian cooking, his creation took a turn to our home cuisine. Mahir likes to cook healthy, but he’s not quite as diligent as me so I was surprised that he came up with a no oil dish. I hope you enjoy it as much as Mahir enjoyed coming up with it.     ~Shivani

Ingredients:

1 pound of tilapia
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds (powder is okay if you don’t have seeds)
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 dried red chile or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
salt, to taste
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
fresh squeezed lemon juice, to taste

Instructions:

Turn on your oven broiler.

Using a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, blend the spices including salt until they are fine like powder.

Squeeze lemon juice on fish, and coat with spice mixture.

Place fish on foil lined cookie sheet or tray and broil until done (about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness of fish).

Top with cilantro, if using, and squeeze with additional lemon juice.

Serving Suggestions:

To make this a complete Indian meal, try with Indian Style Mushrooms and Green Beans or with My Mother’s Gobi.

Vegetarian Substitutes:

This spice mixture would also taste great on sliced tofu or seitan. You can broil them, but they would also work grilled.

Tilapia with Leeks, Garlic, Capers, Tomatoes & Basil

Tilapia with Leeks, Garlic, Capers, Tomatoes & Basil
Serves 2
Can be doubled | Can be halved
Vegetarian Substitutes

This leek and tomato mixture is something I’ve been making for over 20 years. My mom found the original recipe in a magazine, which called for a similar mixture tossed together with linguini, and passed it on to me during my vegan years. It was a big hit. Today, we still enjoy the pasta version now and then, made with whole grain noodles, but this sauté is also fantastic with fish or seafood. It’s one of those dishes which will impress guests while keeping your job in the kitchen nice and simple. It takes only minutes to prepare, and the result is a beautiful plate which also happens to be amazingly delicious!     ~ Susan

Ingredients:

2 large or 4 small fillets of fresh tilapia
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized leek – washed and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 large cloves garlic – minced
2 roma tomatoes – cut into large dice
1 tablespoon capers – drained
2 large leaves fresh basil – torn into small pieces
optional – 10 whole kalamata olives
optional – hot chile flakes to your liking

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Season the tilapia with a sprinkle of sea salt and plenty of ground black pepper and bake for about 10 minutes, our until fish is done (easily flakes apart with a fork).

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet, allowing the oil to remain in a pool as opposed to spreading it out all over the pan. Add the leeks, gently placing each slice into the pool of oil. Let leeks cook over medium high for about 2 minutes, or until they begin to brown nicely. Add the garlic to the oil and let it sizzle for a few seconds. Now add the chopped tomatoes and capers and gently stir to combine.

Turn off heat.

Add your optional olives and hot chile flakes now too, if you like.

The less you stir it, the better the leeks will hold their shape – which is the goal for a nice presentation of the final dish.

Add the torn basil just before serving, and spoon mixture over the tilapia on the serving plates.

Serving Suggestions:

Fantastic with any whole grain on the side.

For a real gourmet presentation – plate the fish and leek mixture atop a nest of whole grain cappellini.

Or, try serving this dish with a side of quick-cooking polenta with just a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese stirred in while you cook it.

Vegetarian Options:

Pan sear tofu slices which have been lightly seasoned with black pepper and serve this saute artfully spooned on top. Elegant and beautiful!

Red Onion, Tomato and Caper Tilapia

Red Onion, Tomato and Caper Tilapia
Serves 2
Can be doubled| Can be halved

I’ve spoken on this blog before about our nanny Tess and her love of cooking. She has a knack for turning out recipes that look delicious and taste even better. The most surprising thing about her creations is their simplicity, and this one is no exception. Tilapia is one of her favorite fish so I order it for her often and love watching how she transforms it into a delicious lunch or dinner.  Its mild taste makes is an ideal candidate to welcome almost any flavor, and in this particular recipe, she used red onion, tomatoes, caper and parsley for an Italian twist. She made it for lunch one day last week, and it looked so good that I copied the same recipe for dinner. I chopped the veggies and herbs while the tilapia cooked, and in less than 10 minutes, we had a meal. 10 minutes later, that meal was gone leaving all three of us happily full.     ~Shivani

Ingredients:

1 pound of tilapia
1/2 to 1 cup of tomatoes, chopped (I love using cocktail tomatoes which are sweeter)
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parley, chopped
2 teaspoons of capers
2 teaspoons of olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.

Season tilapia with salt and pepper and add to pan, cooking until done (about five minutes a side depending on the thickness of the fish).

While the fish cooks, toss together tomatoes, onions, parsley, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Divide mixture in half, and serve on top of fish.

Serving Suggestions

A crusty whole wheat roll and a green salad with cucumbers, carrots, thinly sliced fennel and red, yellow or orange bell pepper strips nicely round out this light meal.