Tilapia has a lot going for it in the fish world. It's sustainable, relatively inexpensive, nutritious, tasty, and versatile. Tilapia's mild flavor adapts especially well to a tangy, bright lemon piccata sauce. This recipe is easy enough for a weeknight, and the tilapia is done in minutes, meaning you can have a nice dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. Try the tilapia with rice or pasta, a simple salad, and perhaps a vegetable or bread on the side. You'll have a low-fat Italian classic that's healthy enough for January diets but as delicious as restaurant fare.
Lemon Piccata Tilapia -- Serves 2
2 tilapia filets, halved down the center line of the fish and patted dry
2-3 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of butter, divided
1 1/4 cup of chicken broth (or 1 1/4 cup of water plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of reduced sodium chicken Better Than Bullion)
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of white wine
1 tablespoon of minced dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon of lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
2-3 tablespoons of capers
salt to taste
Preheat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat and spritz it with olive oil. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the pan. While the butter melts, spritz the tilapia with olive oil and dredge each of the 4 pieces in the flour until thoroughly coated. Put the tilapia in the pan with the melted butter and brown the pieces for a few minutes. Flip the fish pieces and brown the other sides (you can add a little more butter or some oil, if the bottom of the pan needs it/seems too dry). Remove the fish to a clean plate and add the chicken broth, lemon juice, wine, dried parsley, lemon pepper, and garlic powder to the pan. Stir them together and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the sauce cook down by 1/3-1/2. Stir in the capers, the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and salt, if you think it's necessary. Add the fish back to the pan with the sauce, turn off the heat, and spoon the sauce over the fish. Let the fish sit in the sauce a couple of minutes to warm it and then serve the fish and sauce over rice or pasta.
