Tilapia with a Lemon and Caper pan sauce
original recipe by: Sara Foster
adapted by: Simply Fit Mama
This is a great recipe. It will help a fish hater enjoy fish...really it will. My hubby has never been a big fan of fish but he will ask for this dish.
- 4 tilapia fillets 1 inch thick (or any other mild fish)
- Sea Salt and Cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup capers, drained then rinsed
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- Juice of 1 lemon
Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides of the fillet. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Place the fish in the skillet and cook undisturbed for about 4 minutes until it is a bit crispy and lifts from the pan easily. During that four minutes scatter the capers and lemon slices around the fish.
Flip the fillets to the other side and cook for another 3-4 minutes depending on the thickness. The fish is done when it is opaque and flaky when pierced with a knife. Carefully lift the fish from the skillet and place them on a platter covered loosely with foil to keep warm.
Add wine and lemon juice to the skillet the fish was cooked in and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Make sure to scrap all the little brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil for around a minute or two until the liquid has reduced. Spoon the pan sauce, sliced lemons and caper over the fish and serve immediately.
Steamed Asparagus
I know you probably don't need a recipe on how to steam but just in case you do here it is. Steaming is a great way to preserve a lot of the nutrients in a veggie. Make sure to season your asparagus.
- Asparagus, cleaned and trimmed
- 1/4 -1/2 cup water
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1-2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste
Using a steaming pot: fill the bottom of the pot with 1/2 cup of water and place the steamer basket with the asparagus in the pot. Place the lid on top and bring water to a boil and steam for 8-10 minutes depending on how crisp you like your asparagus.
Don't have a steaming pot? Use a skillet with a lid. Place the asparagus and 1/4 cup of water in the skillet. Place the lid on top and bring water to a boil and steam for 6-8 minutes depending on how crisp you like your asparagus.
When your asparagus is cooked place it on a platter then sprinkle it with the olive oil. Next squeeze the lemon over the top and season with salt and pepper. You could also toss the ingredients in a bowl to evenly distribute the dressing but I'd rather not dirty another dish.
Brown Rice
Do yourself a favor and next time you make rice make a big batch! I use a simple rice cooker I always make the largest batch I can, use what we need for that meal and then freeze the rest. Freeze the leftover rice in quart or gallon size ziplock bags. You can smoosh them flat before you freeze and then they will take up very little space. Next time you need rice you can heat in in a pan quickly, microwave it for a few minutes (put it in a bowl first), or use it in soups or other recipes.
If you don't like brown rice but would like to switch to brown rice because it's better for you. My best tip is start small. Use your normal measurements for the white rice but replace a 1/4 of it with brown rice add an 1/8 more water. After you do that for a while start increasing the brown rice by replacing 1/2 then 3/4, etc until you and your family don't even notice the difference.
