Tilapia Oreganata

Ok enough with all the cookies...

I've been attempting to incorporate more white fish into my world. It took some researching to convince myself I could make white fish even the least bit appealing. I realized, however, that the beauty of fish is that it is a blank slate. You can make white fish in so many different ways that "boring" isn't really an excuse for not including it in your diet. 

Try this great recipe I found at Clean & Delicious. It uses tilapia instead of your usual cod or sole, which perked my interest. I bet after tasting this dish you'll warm up to the idea as well. White fish has possibility, my friends.

Serve up this meal with a good salad or some garlic green beans. Yum!

Tilapia Oreganata

From Clean & Delicious

Ingredients

1 pound tilapia filets
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
The zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon whole wheat bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with olive oil.

Place tilapia on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine garlic, lemon zest (not the juice), oregano, and olive oil. Using a pastry brush (or your hands) rub the herbed oil on top of each filet. Finish by sprinkling the breadcrumbs evenly on top of the fillets.

Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the fish is opaque and just cooked through.

Serve with fresh lemon wedges and your favorite veggie. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

Give Me That Filet O' Fish

Photo by Rachel Dedrickson

Give me that filet o’ fish, give me that fish!

Don’t you love that McDonald’s commercial?

Me too.

That’s not what this post is about though, but I think the jingle is fitting. This post is about fish. Do you like fish?

I don’t recall caring much for fish as a kid, but this fish in foil recipe always seemed to be the exception. I believe Mom used cod or halibut for this recipe, which seemed to taste more ‘neutral’ than other varieties of seafood. White fish must be the key.

The other fun thing about this dinner is the presentation. I remember thinking it was so fun to get dinner wrapped up in my own personal foil packet.

The recipe also reminds me of summer camp, when we’d sleep outside on blue tarps and cook dinner over the fire. Meat and veggies wrapped in foil and held over the crackling flames. Yum! Fish in Foil gets me the same tasty meal without the bugs and creepy crawlies.

Best of all, I can easily recreate this recipe just like Mom made it.  I don’t wonder about this dish the way I used to wonder about how to make Aunt Julie’s “rock” matzo balls, and there is no secret, unspecified ingredient like I discovered there is in sweet kugel (*cough* apricot jam). Fish in Foil is more like a “what you see is what you get” kind of meal.

The fresh green beans, carrots, onions, and potato come out buttery and perfectly tender. The fish comes out just right--not too dry.  And best of all the steps are a no-brainer, which I love.

Put all the ingredients on top of a foil square, wrap them up, put the packets on a baking sheet, and stick them in the oven. It’s just so fun to get dinner rolled up neatly in your own personal container. Peel open. Devour.  So simple!

Fish In Foil

Ingredients:

4 fish fillets (1 lb.) (cod, perch, white fish, etc.)
2 tbsp. melted butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Dill to taste2 carrots, sliced lengthwise and then halved
1/2 med. onion, sliced

1 potato, peeled and diced2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, salt, pepper, and dill together in a small bowl.  Cut a large square of foil for each fillet. On each square, place fillet, top with butter mixture and divide the carrots, potato, and green beans evenly between each packet. Place a sliced onion on top of the filet. Fold up ends of foil and seal. Place packets on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Photo by Rachel Dedrickson