Saturday, January 3, 2015

Spinach & Goat Cheese Tilapia


What is all this bunk about not putting seafood with cheese? 
Well, HA, I'm breaking another rule. 
I love breaking rules... it really does something for me. 

Here's probably where the "rule" on pairing cheese and seafood came from. 
Seafood has delicate flavors, and Cheese is strong and over powers the fish. 
Well, that's easy, don't put Limberger on your fish. Duh.
Think of all the classic dishes that already DO pair seafood and cheese... lox & cream cheese, seafood quiche, Coquille St. Jacques (scallops in cheese sauce) and many, many more.

Tilapia and Goat Cheese are two things that people tell me that they don't like but they both happen to be some of my favorite ingredients.  Tilapia is so mild, I just can't see disliking something like that.  I love it.  Same with goat cheese, but I guess I can see that some people don't like the tang of goat cheese.
So...
I put the two things together, that way those difficult dislikers of tilapia and goat cheese are never going to get beyond the title of the dish. Smart, huh?

Need some more ideas for Tilapia?  Here's a bunch more.


Serves 2
Ingredients

Olive oil or spray Pam
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, minced
1/2 10 oz bag of spinach, chopped
2-4 Tbsp goat cheese (I used about 4 Tbsp) 

2 tilapia filets, or other white fish
Olive oil or spray Pam
Salt & Pepper

Green onions for garnish, optional

Preheat oven/broiler.

Cut up the pepper and onion. Add to a medium hot fry pan with some more olive oil or non-stick spray.  Cook for 3-5 minutes until they get some color and start to soften.

Add some fresh spinach, but be sure to chop it up so it's not in big ol' pieces.


Add the spinach to the peppers and onions, and cook until wilted.  
Meanwhile, add the goat cheese to a bowl, and microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften it
Add the veggie mixture to a bowl with the goat cheese.  Stir until combined.


Salt and pepper both sides of the fish fillets.

In the same fry pan, over medium high heat with some olive oil or non-stick spray, cook the tilapia, browning it on both sides.  Cooking for about 5-7 minutes.  You don't need to cook it completely as you will finish this dish in the oven.

 
Top with the goat cheese mixture and add the pan to the hot oven.  Turn on the broiler and cook until the goat cheese veggie mixture is starting to brown, about 2-3 minutes.  Serve at once.


No comments:

Post a Comment