What's for Dinner Tonight? (Last Night): Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and rather than fight the crowds and pay big bucks for a fancy dinner, I thought I'd do it all at home.

On the menu? Fish! I high-fived myself for actually following through on my commitment to adding fish to my iron-poor diet and it turned out fabulous!

For Valentine's dinner I made Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce, Parmesan, Lemon & Spinach Orzo and Steamed Asparagus. I served it with crusty French bread, some cute mini cupcakes that I picked up at the store and a glass of Chardonnay.

The tilapia was on sale at the store (bonus) and the filets were perfect! Cooking the fish made me nervous since I've never done it before and it looked rather delicate to the touch, but it was soooo easy. Breaded in parmesan and panko then lightly fried and topped with sauce it was delicious! I'm definitely keeping it on my menu and am looking now for new ways to cook tilapia before I move on to my next fish tryout.

The orzo side dish was a perfect accompaniment to the fish with the lemon and spinach. I love how orzo reminds me of risotto without all of the work that goes into it and I'm always looking for new orzo recipes.

Warning: All of this comes together in about 20 minutes or so and it was all I could do to keep my head on straight! I tried to prepare as much ahead of time as possible, like chopping the produce and mixing the breadcrumbs, but there's no way to avoid having all four burners of the stove on at once. If I'd had one more pair of capable hands in the kitchen, it would have made me less stressed, but a glass of wine while cooking helped!

All in all a very nice Valentine's Day - hope you had a good one, too!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce by lifesambrosia.com on Pinterest

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

• 3/4 cup cream

• small handful of fresh basil leaves

• 4 tilapia filets

• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

• 1/2 cup flour

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

• Oil for frying

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add cream. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Sauce will turn slightly pink and coat the back of the spoon. (Note: It is okay if the sauce boils slightly.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, pour enough oil to coat the bottom of a skillet and heat over medium high heat.

3. Rinse and pat dry the tilapia filets. Season both sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

4. Combine parmesan, panko and granulated garlic.

5. Dredge the seasons tilapia filets in the flour. Shake off excess. Dip in egg. Press into parmesan/panko mixture.

6. Place fish in heated skillet, in batches if necessary and cook 3-4 minutes per side. Fish will be golden brown and will flake easily when done.

7. When you remove the fish, chiffonnade the basil (Note: To do this, simply roll up a few basil leaves and gently chop). Stir the basil into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

8. Lay fish on a serving platter and spoon sauce over the top. Serve.

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Parmesan, Lemon & Spinach Orzo by Little Diary on the Prairie on Pinterest

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orzo pasta

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup fresh spinach

• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

• 1/2 a lemon zest and juice, more to taste

• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp dried thyme or a tsp fresh minced thyme

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil.

2. Add orzo and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes. The orzo will absorb most of the broth as it cooks, although you want a little remaining broth.

3. Remove pasta from heat and stir in chopped spinach, cheeseyong, the sauce , lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper.

4. Serve immediately.

Notes:

So between the tilapia frying, the sauce saucing, the orzo simmering and the asparagus steaming, I read the tilapia recipe really wrong. But it still turned out really good and after all isn't that what matters? Not my recipe reading skills or lack thereof? Now, some (my husband) may say that it was the first glass of wine that did me in, but I look at that as an enhancement. Sooo anyway. I forgot (completely missed that I was supposed) to dredge the tilapia in flour and egg. I dredged it in the Parmesan/panko mixture, then realized I had eggs out for some reason and looked at the recipe again. Color me surprised. So then I dredged it in the egg mixture, then back in the Parmesan/panko mixture. And what do you know, it made it extra bready, crispy like. Yum! I guess I also missed the thyme in the orzo, but that's ok because I out-thymed my fam on the glazed carrots I made a few weeks back. Seriously though, this was like crazy master chef busy and I learned that even though I kind of suck at reading recipes, I'm getting just good enough that I haven't completely screwed anything up! Go me.

#seafood #maindish #sides #pasta