Saturday, February 12, 2011

Walnut Panko Crusted Lemon Caper Tilapia

Sorry for being m.i.a. for forever- I've just been getting into the swing of things since school started. Anyways, I have an affinity for fish, as long as it's cooked perfectly and not overdone. Fish is supposed to be flaky, but not dry-as-cardboard flaky. I know the recipe has capers in it- which honestly freaked me out when I first tasted them, right out of the jar. It was definitely a pucker up moment, sour is an understatement. But once they are drained, and cooked, they are actually very tasty, a nice salty component to a dish and perfect with lemon and a light white fish. I've made many kinds of fish before with a panko crust on top, but this one has the addition of walnuts which I got the idea from Sunny Anderson on the Food Network, who makes a similar version of this fish using lemon sole. I used to use slivered almonds, but since fish cooks best on high temperature, they would easily burn. Anyways, the recipe goes as follows:

-2 filets of tilapia
-Lemon pepper
-4 tbsp. Earth Balance
-2 springs of dill, chopped
-1 lemon, zested and juiced
-2 garlic cloves
-2 tbsp. drained and rinsed capers

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

-Drizzle a little olive oil in a small saucepan, and add the capers. When they start to pop add the Earth Balance. Grate the garlic gloves on a Microplane directly into the pan, add the dill and lemon juice and zest, reserving some of the zest for the topping, and stir until the Earth Balance is melted. You don't really need to add salt because of the capers.
-Crack some lemon pepper over the tilapia on both sides (preferred brand: Trader Joe's lemon pepper mill) and transfer to a glass baking dish, such as Pyrex).
-Pour the Earth Balance mixture over the fish and then top with the topping:

-1/2 cup Panko crumbs
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts
-1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
-1 tbsp. chopped dill
-reserved lemon zest
-Combine the ingredients in a separate bowl and drizzle in a little olive oil, just to bring everything together
-Sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional)

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes


I know it's similar to my other tilapia recipes that I've posted before, but whenever I find the smallest way to change up a recipe (capers), I fall in love!

Enjoy :-)