Orange Basil Tilapia

I am not a big fan of fish.  I can eat shrimp or oysters or any other shellfish until they are coming out of my ears.  But fish?  It isn’t just the taste, but the texture that turns me off.  Too often fishy is mushy.  Yuck! However, the trick is to pick firm, fresh fish and then not overcook it. Tilapia is a good fish to use, if you aren’t that into fish.  It isn’t ‘fishy.’

I made a sauce/glaze of honey, orange, and soy sauce. Umami (savory), sweet, salty, bitter, and sour are the five basic human tastes. To make a dish taste good you need to try to balance these tastes with one another.  The perfect bite has all of them in perfect equilibrium. Honey is sweet.  The orange juice is sour and sweet.  Soy sauce adds savory and salt.  The orange zest is sour and just a little bitter.  I chose to serve this over Coconut Curry Rice.  The coconut milk is very sweet.  The curry is very savory (umami.)  Because this dish is sweet, you will want to make sure to taste before serving and add salt if needed.  Adding the zest at the end doesn’t just make the dish pretty, it also cuts the sweetness.

Servings: 4-6

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes; Cook: 20 Minutes
Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, knives and a cutting board, a sauce pot, a baking sheet, a small bowl, a zester, a wooden spoon, a pastry brush, a metal spatula, foil, and paper towels

Ingredients

• 1-1 ¼ pound tilapia (4 filets)
• ¾ cup no sugar added orange juice
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• Zest from 1 large orange (2+ tablespoons)
• 16 large basil leaves
• 1 shallot
• 2 green onions
• Cooking spray
• Salt & pepper
• Orange zest, basil leaves, and sea salt for garnish

Orange Basil Tilapia

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Line the baking sheet with foil. Spray it with oil
3. Rinse the fish in clean water and pat dry.  Cut into serving sizes.
4. Zest and juice the orange.  Slice the shallot. Tear the basil into pieces.  Chop the green onion. Set aside.
5. Heat the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, and zest in the sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir until the honey is melted.
6. Place about ¼ of the sauce into the small bowl.  Keep the rest of the sauce warm.
7. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and place it onto the prepared baking sheet. 
8. Brush the fish with the sauce from the bowl. (This is done to cut down on the possibility of cross contamination.)
9. Sprinkle the fish with ½ the shallot and basil.
10. Bake the fish for 7 minutes and then turn with the spatula.
11. Brush the second side with the orange sauce and sprinkle on the rest of the shallots and basil.
12. Bake for 5-7 minutes on the second side depending on the thickness of the fillets.  Be careful to not over cook the fish.  It is done when it is opaque and flakes easily.
13. To plate place the fish on a bed of Coconut Curry Rice.  Pour a little of the warm sauce on the fish, sprinkle with fresh sea salt, torn basil leaves, orange zest, and green onion.