Herb and Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Well, it was Wednesday, both Bubba and I were back in town (he from trucking and I from a glorious Happy 40th Birthday cruise!) what else could we say but "So Cook Already!" :0)

Now, with both of us just getting back into town,we were a little light in the grocery department, but I did find a package of Tilapia loins in the freezer. That gave us a start for dinner. I don't know if you keep an extra package of tilapia in the freezer, but it is one of the 2 things I always try to have in the freezer; the other being Pizza Rolls - teenagers!

I usually buy my tilapia frozen at Costco. It comes individually frozen in 4 ounces portions which is nice when you are trying to watch your servings, and it is easy to keep a bag in freezer for dinner emergencies such as this. The quantity of fish that we cooked was most of the bag, but I had made one previous dinner out of it.

Bubba and I decided that some nice fried tilapia sounded great with a fresh tomato and garlic pasta as the side. I knew that I had some premade breading in the cupboard so we decided to short cut it a little that night and use the preseasoned breadcrumb mixture. This is the seasoned breadcrumb mixture that we used. It is from Costco as well, and is a herb and Parmesan breadcrumb mix. You could also easily use Italian breadcrumbs from the store and mix in a little Parmesan of your own, I just happened to have this already. (If you are looking for this mixture at Costco, I found it in the spice aisle. It comes in a round tin.)
There is no exact recipe for this dinner as we were just throwing things together, but if you are trying to make a grocery list we had: 6-8 tilapia lions, 4 oz each; an egg for dredging, 1 1/2 cups flour for dredging; 2 cups Parmesan and Herb Encrusting Blend (or breadcrumbs); 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic; 6-8 Campari tomatoes; olive oil; and about 12 ounces of twisted pasta (any type).

We partially thawed the tilapia in cold water, then dredged it in flour. It should look like this.
We quickly dredged each loin in the flour and set it aside until all the fish was coated with flour. The flour sticks easily to the fish, so you can simply twirl them through the flour by flipping them with your hands.

After the flour, we dredged the fish through an egg bath so that the second layer, the breading, would stick better. To make the egg bath, we simply whipped an egg with a fork so that it was well blended. The egg bath looked like this.

The egg bath for the tilapia was actually harder than the flour dredge. Mind you, it still was not HARD to do, and definitely not a reason to stop you from trying this dinner! Each piece of floured fish that you set aside needs to go into the egg bath and then the "encrusting mixture" or breadcrumbs. We decided to dredge the fish in the egg bath and then the breadcrumbs before moving on to the next piece of fish. The process looked something like this.

In the picture above, you can see how the egg bath did not cover all of the flour coat on the piece of fish in the foreground. However, if you look at the piece of fish in the background of the picture, you can see that it still coated nicely in the breadcrumb mixture. Just coat a couple of pieces at a time, setting them aside as you go, until all the fish pieces have been coated. We heated up our oil we were going to be using to fry while we were still coating the fish. Once you have all the fish pieces through the egg bath and the breadcrumb mixture you can begin to fry them. "Fry" is not always a bad word. We just used enough oil to heavily coat the bottom of the pan, and the fish did not seem oily or greasy when it was done. This is what our pan looked like while the fish was cooking.
Using a nice hot skillet will give you a crispy crust like this one. The fish cooks up quickly, about 4-6 minutes per side. You will know the fish is done when it flakes nicely with a fork. Bubba and I usually "sacrifice" one piece to test for doneness, and check the seasoning levels. Once both sides of the fish have been cooked and are nicely crisp, you should have a nice platter full to serve.
For a quick side dish to go with our fish, Bubba and I decided on pasta with fresh tomatoes. It was really less of a decision and more of a necessity based on what we had on hand. Having just gotten home, I did make a quick run to Costco (is this beginning to sound like I have a problem?)to pick up some fresh produce. I love the Campari tomatoes that come on the vine. They are a nice size to use no matter if you are throwing them in a salad or omelet, slicing them for sandwiches, or in this case, chunking them up for a fresh pasta sauce. When I buy them they come in a package like this, but I have also seen them at the grocery store in a smaller quantity in a net bag.


For tonight's pasta, the idea was quick and simple. While we were getting the fish breaded, Bubba and I threw a pot of water on to boil. Once it had begun to boil, we tossed in some dry pasta to cook. Once the fish was in the pan frying, Bubba chunked up some of the tomatoes along with the fresh garlic.

As soon as the fish was finished cooking, we removed it to a platter and kept it warm. This allow us to throw the tomatoes and garlic into the pan that had just fried the fish - Drippings, YUM! Now that the tomatoes and garlic were in the frying pan with the remaining oil and seasonings, we left them there to saute until soft. Once the tomatoes and garlic have softened, and the pasta is cooked, combine the two for your simple and easy side dish.

All of this food was prepped and cooked in less than 45 minutes. It was delicious and everyone ate some (including the picky sisters!). Next time you are at the store, be sure to grab some frozen tilapia. That way, when you are stumped for dinner, don't order out, think to yourself "I can do this easy recipe"........So Cook Already!