Walnut Crusted, Oven Baked, Lemon-Dill Tilapia

Walnut Crusted, Oven Baked, Lemon-Dill Tilapia

This is the beginning of our eighth week of the shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. We are only going out when we absolutely must. My mother lives with us and is immuno-compromised because she is receiving chemo. Last Thursday I made a grocery run. We have been eating shelf-stable food (cans and jars.) I needed something fresh! I bought fish.

I purchased tilapia because my mom will eat it. I decided to encrust it because it keeps the fish moist and because it is yummy! I had walnuts so I chose to use them. You could use pecans. I love Honey Mustard, so I made a Honey Mustard Cream Sauce. You could also choose to use different seasonings and sauces. If you wanted to use Cajun seasoning, you would serve this with Rémoulade Sauce. Replace the lemon-pepper with taco seasoning and the dill with cilantro and use Lime Chipotle Mayo as a topping for a south of the border dish.

I served the fish with Orzo Pilaf (I replaced the onion with garlic) and fresh steamed broccoli with a squeeze of lemon.

Servings: 4-6

Time:  Prep:10 minutes; Cooking:12-15 minutes; Dinner in less than 30 minutes.

Hardware:  An airtight container, measuring spoons and cups, 2 forks, paper towels, 2 large shallow bowls or plates with high sides (I use pie plates for this), foil, a baking sheet, a large spatula (or a fish turner)

Ingredients:

• 1-pound tilapia fillets
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ¾ cup ground walnuts
• 1½ cups flour
• 1 tablespoon + ½ tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning (salt free)
• 2 teaspoons + 1 teaspoon dried dill
• S&P to taste
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• Cooking spray
• A little chopped parsley for garnish

……………………..

Sauce Ingredients:

• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• A pinch of salt

1. Mix the sauce ingredients in the airtight container and put it in the fridge until dinner.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°.  Line the baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
3. Rinse the fish in clean water and pat dry. Cut into serving sizes. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the fish pieces. Season them with ½ tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning and 1 teaspoon dried dill. Set aside.
4. Mix the crumbs, walnuts, and the rest of the lemon pepper seasoning and dried dill in one of the bowls/plates. Beat the egg and yogurt together in the second bowl. Put the flour in the last bowl.
5. Dip each fillet into the flour, then the yogurt mixture, then into the crumb mixture. You may need to press a little of the crumbs onto the fish to make sure that it is completely coated.
6. Place the fish onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake the fish for 7 minutes and then turn with the spatula. 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.
7. To serve top each piece of fish with some sauce and sprinkle on some chopped parsley.