Potato Crusted Tilapia with Rosmary Oil

I made this some time back for my son's birthday before he left for Canada to play hockey.  I had invited family, his friends and my friends.  This is so easy.  I got this recipe watching Giada DeLaurentis one day on the FoodNetwork.  It is great to fix for a large crowd or an easy weekday dinner.  Even friends who normally do not like fish, loved this!  You can use red potatoes or Yukon Gold.  I like seasoned salt, but sea salt or kosher salt will work as well.  I find that russet or baking potatoes do not work. 

Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets

1-2 potatoes (very thinly sliced)
2 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves (minced)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup minced fresh chives
Seasoned salt or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Using a mandoline or slicer (can be done by hand), slice the potatoes into paper thin rounds.  Place in a bowl of cold water to remove the starch.  Then remove and pat dry with a paper towel or kitchen towel.


Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Top each of the fillets with potato slices completely covering the surface of the fish, overlaying the potatoes like shingles. When all the fillets are covered with the potato slices, sprinkle the potato side with a little more salt and pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the minced rosemary leaves.

Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the butter. When the butter is melted and the oil is hot add the fish, potato side down.  Cook the for approximately 4-5 minutes or until it looks like the potatoes are brown.  Move the skillet to the oven and bake until the fish is cooked through, about 15 to 17 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk the extra-virgin olive oil, chives, the remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary, salt and pepper.

To serve, flip the fish with the potato side up on to a plate. Drizzle the fish and the plate with the rosemary-chive oil. Serve immediately with your favorite rice pilaf.

Tandoori Fish

This is absolutely incredible.  I got this recipe from Nita's husband when he returned from a trip to India.  I decided to try it with fresh fish. What's great about this dish it has fabulous flavors but it is not spicy hot. I served it to the dance troupe before we did a performance. If you can, use fresh fish instead of frozen if at all possible.   Asian and ethnic grocery stores have large fish tanks with a good assortment of live fish to choose from.  Have your local fishmonger scale and clean the fish for you.

Ingredients:
2 whole fishes (cleaned) trout, sea bass or tilapia
2 inches of fresh ginger root (peeled and minced)
10 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 tblsp olive or canola oil
1/2 lime (juiced)
3 tblsp tomato puree
1 tblsp paprika
1 tblsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
salt and pepper

Cut diagonal slits on each side of the fish.  Make sure you cut deep enough to expose the meat, but not all the way through the bones.  Place fishes in a glass or ceramic plate.  Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix until it creates a paste.  Rub the paste all over the outside of fish on both sides.  Make sure some of the paste get between the diagonal cuts.  Rub some of the paste inside the cavity of the fish.  Use all the paste.  Cover the fish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinade.

Set oven to broil and preheat in low.  Cover a baking dish or deep tray with foil.  Place fish in the foil covered dish and broil in the oven uncovered.  Broil one side for approximately 8 minutes.  Turn fish over and broil the other side for another 8 minutes.  Increase the setting to medium or high to allow the skin to crisp.  Watch carefully so as not to burn for appoximately 4 minutes; flip fish and do the same on the other side. Remove from the oven and serve with basmati rice and Tomato, Onion and Chilli salad (recipe available on this blogsite).

Whole Fish with Black Bean Sauce

Something I have always wanted to try was to cook a whole fish.  It is not as difficult as I thought it would be.  It was actually a lot of fun.  Note: there is a difference between fresh fish and frozen.  Asian and ethnic grocery stores have huge fish tanks for live seafood.  It is amazing how wonderful it is to cook with very fresh seafood.  I recommend it highly.  Have your fishmonger scale and clean the fish for you.  The original recipe normally steams the fish.  I prefer baking or broiling; this creates a different texture to the fish.  If you wish to steam, wrap the fish in foil and steam for 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 whole fish (cleaned) trout, sea bass, tilapia

2 tblsp salted black beans

1 tsp sugar

2 inches of fresh ginger (shredded)

6 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)

3 tblsp Chinese rice wine

3 tblsp Light soy sauce

4-6 spring onions (shredded or sliced)

3 tblsp olive or canola oil

1 tsp sesame oil

Wash the fish inside and out and dry with a paper towel.  With a sharp knife, cut deep diagonal slices across the each side of the fish. Cut deep enough to expose the flesh but not to the bones.  Mash half of the beans in a small bowl with the sugar.  Add the remaining whole beans and mix well.  Place fish on a glass or ceramic plat and place half of the shredded ginger and sliced garlic inside the fish cavity spreading as evenly as you can.  Rub the blackbean mixture on to the outside of the fish making sure you get it between the diagonal slices.  Turn fish over and do the same on the other side. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Turn oven on to 350 degrees.  Place fish in a foil covered pan.  Mix rice wine with 1 tblsp of soy sauce and 1 tblsp oil.  Pour mixture over the fish. Cover fish with another piece of foil and place in the oven.  Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil covering and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes or until fish is done (flesh is opaque).

In a small pan, heat the remaining oil until almost smoking; remove from heat. Add the sesame oil and the remaining soy sauce and stir.  Remove fish from the oven and transfer to a plate, sprinkle with the spring onions.  Drizzle with the oil and soy sauce mixture.  Serve hot with steamed rice.

NOTE: If you are not comfortable with cooking a whole fish, ask your fishmonger to remove the head.  This also works with fish fillets. Reduce cooking time if cooking fillets.

Five Spice Fish Fillet

Quick and easy and oh so yummy. I made some changes to the original recipe, tried it at home and got a winner.  Try any light white fish (tilapia, cod, mahi-mahi) fillet.

Ingredients:
1lb thin fish fillet (tilapia, mahi-mahi, cod or any white fish)
1/2 cup flour
2-3 tsp five-spice powder
3 tblsp canola or olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tblsp brown sugar
1 tblsp sesame oil
Salt and pepper
2 green onion stalks (chopped diagonally)

Place flour in a flat dish, season flour with salt and pepper and set aside.  Rub the five-spice powder on each side of the fish fillet.  Roll fish fillet into the flour and dust off the excess.  Heat the oil in a deep frying pan.  When oil is hot, place the fish fillets into the hot pan without crowding.  Cook each side for approximately 2 minutes until opaque.

In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil; season with pepper.  Pour soy sauce mixture onto fish.  Reduce heat and continue to cook turning fish fillets occassionally to coat.  Continue cooking until sauce thickens and creates a nice glaze on the fish.  Do not allow the glaze to burn.  Transfer fillets to a warm plate and garnish with the chopped green onions.  Serve hot with steamed rice or fried rice.

Banana Leaf Wrapped Tilapia

I've always wanted to make something in a banana leaf, but I wanted something easy to start with.  I thought if I  started with easy, it would build my confidence and then I can go to more complex type foods.  This is a great recipe if you have never cooked with banana leaves.  You don't have to create a container or do any type of special folding or wrapping. The roasted pepper sauce is absolutely divine.  When you serve it like in the picture with a side of cilantro lime rice....OMG!

Ingredients:

1 bag of banana leaves cut into 5 or 6 inch squares
8 tilapia fillets (approx. 6oz each)
4 small limes
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1 green onion (chopped)
Sliced lemons or limes

Red Pepper Sauce:
1 12oz jar roasted peppers (drained)
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a large stock pot about half way with water and bring to a boil. 
Season each tilapia fillet with salt and pepper and juice of half a lime; set a side. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

When water comes to a boil, blanche a banana leaf in the boiling water for approximately 30 seconds.  If the banana leaves are frozen, blanche for at least 1 minute.  Remove from the boiling water and lay out on a flat surface.  Place one of the tilapia fillets in the center.  Fold each corner like you are wrapping a gift. Flip the wrapped fish over so that the seam side is down.  Place the parcel on the greased baking sheet.  Continue with the other banana leaves and tilapia fillets.  Once all the fillets have been wrapped and placed on the baking sheet, bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

For the red pepper sauce, place the red peppers, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender.  Puree adding the olive oil is a slow stream until well blended.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 

Remove the wrapped fillets from the oven and allow to sit for approximately 5 minutes.  Cut slits across the top of each parcel separating the banana leaves.  Spoon the red pepper sauce and garnish with the green onions and sliced lemons or limes.