Pan-Roasted Tilapia with Cherry Tomatoes
I think that after a weekend of gluttony, this is the type of meal we all are craving. Simple, light and delicious. I’ve been making many variations of this recipe for quite some time, and it appears in the rotation more often these days in my effort to remove the majority of meat from my family’s diet. Reed loves Pan-Roasted Tilapia with Cherry Tomatoes as much as Gary and I.
For this particular photo, I used frozen tilapia loins from Costco. I like them because the quality and size are consistent and the fact that each loin comes individually wrapped within the bag is super convenient. When I am feeling more ambitious, I buy the fresh tilapia fillets at Costco and individually wrap each piece in plastic wrap before putting them in a freezer bag. Of course, you can just buy your tilapia at any trusted source. Tilapia is a nice mild, flakey fish. Its affordable and hard not to like. Any flaky white fish can be used in this recipe. If the pieces are thicker, you will need to adjust the cooking time.
This version of the recipe is delicious as is but feel free to make it your own by adding a spoonful of capers, some sliced olives, chopped bell peppers…truly, you can’t go wrong.
Finally, I served Pan-Roasted Tilapia with Cherry Tomatoes over orzo tossed with olive oil and store-bought pesto. You can just as easily serve it with couscous, rice, potatoes, bread or on it’s own. It’s simple and delicious. Enjoy!
Pan-Roasted Tilapia with Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 large shallot thinly sliced
- 4 peperoncini thinly sliced
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 Tbls olive oil
- 1 Tbls sherry vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 loins tilapia
- 1 Tbls fresh mint, basil or parsley leaves julienned for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, shallots, peperoncini, zest of 1/2 lemon, olive oil, sherry vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to a 9"x13" baking dish. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sprinkle the tilapia with salt and pepper and after 15 minutes, add the tilapia to the pan. Spoon some of the tomato liquid over the fish and cook for another 10-12 minutes (test after 10 minutes to see that the fish flakes at the thickest point).
- Remove from the oven, squeeze 1/2 lemon over the fish and sprinkle with the fresh herbs. Serve.*