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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Weeknight Dinner: Blackened Tilapia

So.
I don't cook fish for J as often as I've promised in the past.  His cardiologist told him at one point that he should eat fish 2 or 3 times a week.  I promised to try and cook fish once a week.  I'm not great about the follow through.  Fish will never be my favourite.
Tilapia is not a particularly strong fish, and will often take on the flavour of anything that has been cooked with it.  In the past, I've used tilapia for fish tacos and coated it in cornmeal and served it with salsa.  The spices of this version were lovely, and J and I both enjoyed it.
Once again, I found a recipe on Budget Bytes that was quick, easy, and fish for those of us who don't enjoy it.
I present to you now Budget Bytes' Blackened Tilapia:

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1-1/2 tsp Italian spice mix
1/4 tsp ground chipotle
1/2 tsp dried minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp butter
2 tilapia filets
Method:
1.  In a shallow dish, combine spices.  Dredge the filets in the spice mixture, coating liberally.
2.  In a frying pan over medium heat, melt half the butter.  Cook the filets in butter, for 4 or 5 minutes per side, until cooked through.  Repeat with second filet, using the remaining butter.
 Adapted from Budget Bytes

Lots of spices were needed for the mix, but I wanted to make sure I had enough to coat the filets thoroughly.  I used a dinner plate for the dredging.  The pieces of fish I bought were big.
The crust that the spices made while cooking smelled wonderful.  I don't think the butter hurt the flavour either.
And there was dinner in about 25 minutes.  I was concerned that the thicker side of the fish wasn't cooked through, so I broke the filets into pieces to make sure they were. They were.  A nice, quick meal.

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