Saturday, September 01, 2007

Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia w/angel hair pasta

In July, hubby & I celebrated our anniversary by ordering dinner to go and having a nice dinner at home without the hassle of trying to keep 3 kids quiet in a restaurant. I decided to order something totally different than my usual prime rib, and decided to go with their Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia, which was served with spaghetti & garlic bread. It was fabulous! Since then, I've been thinking about it and wanting it again, but not wanting to spend the kind of money it requires to feed 5 at the 99 Restaurant.

Today, while futzing around in my freezer trying to figure out what was for dinner, I came across some tilapia that I'd bought recently and put that out to defrost. I had planned on our usual (another recipe for another day), but then at the lats minute, decided to try my hand at the yummy thing that the 99 had done. The results were excellent!

4 tilapia filets, roughly 1 lb.
2/3 c. Progresso Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs, Italian Flavor
1/3 c. Great Value (walmart) brand Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. flour
12 oz. spaghetti, cooked (more or less, depending on how many you're serving)
pasta sauce (my recipe is below)

First off, if you've never used Panko bread crumbs, you simply MUST buy them. They're chunkier than regular bread crumbs and hold up really well to the egg/flour mixture.

So, I always check my fish to make sure there's no bones - so they're wet already. I dipped each one individually in the flour first. Then I dredged them in the EGG MIXTURE (LOL Sorry I left this out originally) and finally, each one individually went into a large freezer storage bag where I'd mixed the bread crumbs and cheese. I shook the bag gently, making sure the fish was completely coated. Onto a foil lined pan sprayed with cooking spray, and into a 425 degree oven it went. Your time may vary, of course, so check to make sure it's done (pick it with a fork - if it is flaky, it's done.)

For the sauce, I was in a bit of a hurry, but rather than use a jar sauce and ruin the flavor of the fish, I went with this quickie recipe:

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic crushed
several fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste

I browned the garlic in the 2 quart sauce pan with some olive oil. Then added the tomatoes, seasonings and let this bubble and cook down while the fish was prepared and cooked. At the same time, I put on the water for the angel hair pasta. Normally, I like a well cooked sauce, but the freshness really went well with the fish. Just as I was taking the fish out of the oven, I tossed the basil into the sauce, stirred it. I served some sauce over both the fish and the pasta and as I said, it was fabulous.

Please let me know if you make this recipe and how you like it. I would suggest using fresh parmesan, as the fake stuff really doesn't have much CHEESE flavor, imo. I will do that the next time. Also, my husband inquired "Where's the mozzarella" because anything that has sauce on it in my house REQUIRES mozzarella too. LOL So that's an option as well. Here was the finished product.



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8 comments:

Karen said...

That sounds INCREDIBLE!!

One question....your ingredient list says "eggs" but I don't see where you actually use them. I'm thinking it's in the breading process. (?)

Dawn said...

LOL Oh geez, I screwed it up LOL Yes, you dredge it in the EGG after the flour LOL Thanks for bringing that up. :)

Karen said...

Since I can't email you because my Gmail is still stuck after the whole Quechup fiasco....

*about* how long do you think they cook? I know my time may vary....but am I looking at 10 minutes or 30?

And, while I have you on the line.....do you get the frozen tilapia (I think I've seen it at Sam's)?

Not being able to send email STINKS! ;)

Anonymous said...

That looks SO GOOD! I've never tried panko crumbs, thanks for the tip. I just happen to have frozen tilapia and I was wondering what to do with it. The sauce looks nice and fresh-tasting, too. Yum!!

Jennifer said...

This looks awesome, Dawn! Thanks for welcoming me to the recipe blog world!

I'm adding your link right now AND subscribing!

Dawn said...

Oh cool, Jen :)

Tootsie said...

Yum. I need some new ideas for something other than steak or chicken.

Mama's Moon said...

This meal looks absolutely divine! Thanks for sharing it, and it looks like you've got waaay too much good stuff for me not to come back - so I'll be back! I had to link you on my Monday Morning Munchies, just had to!