Spanish Style Tilapia

Looking for something to serve up for dinner that is out of the ordinary and a little different from the rest of your other meals? This tilapia dish is a Spanish/ Mediterranean inspired cuisine that will not only brighten up your dish, but it will brighten up your taste buds. You and your family will sure to be pleased!

I was looking through my freezer and wondering what I can have for dinner, you probably know what that's like. I saw a package of frozen tilapia and thought what can I do with this? I for sure did not want to cook it just in butter and lemon and serve it with some other side. That just seems quite boring. So I decided to make it a little different. I thought why not make it like one of my favorite dishes, spanish steak. Instead of steak, replace it with the tilapia I had. Serve it with some brown rice and I have a simple, not so boring meal.

Here is the recipe:

4 tilapia fillets
1 small onion (diced)
1 bell pepper (diced)
1 tsp. of minced garlic
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. of cumin
1/4 tsp. of cracked pepper
1/4 tsp. of salt
1 tbsp. of cilantro (finely chopped)
1 tbsp. of parsley (finely chopped)
1 tsp. of lime zest
1 fresh lime (squeezed)
1/2 cup. of chicken broth or dry white wine or both
1 cup. of brown rice

Total prep time: 10 min  Total cook time: 1 hr. 15 min Total time: 1 hr. 30 min
Skill: Easy
Serves 4

First, I started with the brown rice. I filled a saucepan with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of chicken broth, 2 tbsp. of butter. Brought it to a boil and poured in 1 cup of brown rice. Lowered the heat to a simmer and cooked the rice for about 45 min (occasionally stirring to prevent from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan). * Now if you have instant rice, this will lower your cooking time about 40 min. I didn't have instant rice, so this took up quite a bit of cooking time.

Next, I took my 4 thawed tilapia fillets, laid them on a paper towel and patted them dry. Seasoned them with salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper, and 1/4 tsp. of cumin. Rubbed both sides with the seasonings. Put them in a skillet with a couple of tablespoons olive oil and seared them 2-3 min on each side. Once I seared them a couple of min on each side, I put them on a paper towel lined plate and set them aside.

Then I took my onion and bell pepper and diced them. Put them into the same skillet and sauteed them for a couple of minutes. Next, I put 1 tsp. of minced garlic and stirred that around in with the onion and bell pepper for about a minute.

Then I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup of dry white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Next, I poured 1 can of crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Covered it and simmered for about 15 minutes.

After simmering for 15 minutes, took my tilapia and put them in the sauce, coated them on each side. Sprinkled 1 tbsp. of chopped cilantro and parsley on top, covered the pan and simmered for another 5 min.

After this was all done, the brown rice was ready to serve. Took the sauce and covered the rice. Then I took the tilapia fillets and carefully placed them on top of the rice. *Be careful with the tilapia while taking it out of the sauce, it tends to fall apart. Take more sauce and cover the fish. Next, I took 1 tsp. of lime zest and fresh squeezed lime juice and doused the exquisite dish. Took a couple of lime slices and placed it on top for decoration or if you want more juice to give it zing.

This simple Spanish/Mediterranean dish can please anyone that is looking for something quick, easy, and different. It will definitely take you out of the ordinary and broaden your horizons.

Now take a bite and enjoy!