Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Lemon Cilantro Tilapia

Now, let me preface this recipe by saying: you will never see a Brown Bag Gourmet recipe that involves re-heating fish in your office microwave.  First of all, I find re-heating fish to be downright gross and second, "Eau de Fish" is not a friendly scent to send wafting through the halls and down to unsuspecting cubicle dwellers.  

However, I will occasionally suggest a fish dish that you can prepare for dinner and then throw into a salad or a pita sandwich for lunch the next day.  This lemon cilantro infused tilapia, for instance, was fabulous in a salad I enjoyed earlier this week along with mixed greens, shredded green cabage, tomato, cucumber and topped with a lemon vinaigrette.  Lunch vehicles such as this are 100% Brown Bag approved and since tilapia is such a mild, non-fishy smelling fish, this is a great recipe to start with.

Ingredients:
2 tilapia fillets, skin removed
Drizzle of olive oil
1 garlic clove, whole
1 lemon
3 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Begin by seasoning both sides of the tilapia with a good amount of salt and pepper and lightly drizzle each side with olive oil.  Heat a dry saute pan over medium heat and rub the garlic clove across pan so as to introduce a hint of garlic flavor, but not overpower the fish.  Add the fillets to the hot, dry pan to give your fish a crispy exterior but maintain its tenderness on the inside. (Shoutout to my Mama for teaching me this trick!)  Flip fish after a few minutes to build that crispiness on the other side.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side and squeeze lemon juice over tilapia fillets to finish.  Lower the heat and allow lemon juice to warm and infuse into fish, adding about half of the cilantro at the last minute and tossing in pan.  Remove tilapia from pan and garnish with remaining cilantro and a lemon wedge or two.  Dive into this fresh, healthy fish dish for dinner and save your extra fillet to mix into a salad, wrap or pita pocket for a great round 2 recipe the next day!

Makes 1 dinner + 1 heat-free lunch :)

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