One of the most popular ways to cook fish is to pan fry it. Though that is an awesome way to do it, I tend to bake my fish if I coat it with something so there is no hassle about flipping it and making sure the coated ingredients don’t fall off. This tilapia tastes perfect with a crunchy coating of breadcrumbs (HOMEMADE!) and melted cheese.
Really nice fish does not need to be breaded, but with simpler fish, such as tilapia, I coat it with breadcrumbs and cheese to give it a crunchy, delicious, exterior. Oh, and of course, baking it in the oven is healthier than pan frying it because you use less oil!
I was inspired to make this by going to this awesome Greek restaurant in the neighborhood. When you enter, the tzatziki smell immediately hits you and and there are plants which have vines intertwined all over the ceiling, creating a very nature atmosphere.I usually order a starter for my main dish because, boy, their main dishes are enormous! The plate is literally twice as big as my head.
So anyways, last time I went there, I ordered the dolmades, which is minced beef, rice, and amazing herbs wrapped in grape leaves. But what I really liked was the sauce. It was a lemon sauce with melted cheese surrounding the dolmades. The cheese just melted in your mouth (even though it was already melted) and made the grape leaves pop.
When my brother started complaining about the bland taste tilapia has (he does this every time he hears we will be having fish for dinner), I decided to use cheese (his favorite ingredient which he puts in everything) to add flavor to the fish.
It looks really appetizing with the yellow and lighter colors swirled over the fish! Well, at least, that’s my opinion.
Oven Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
An easy recipe that will result in delicious, moist and of course chocolate-rich muffins! Makes 24 medium muffins or 12 medium muffins and 6 gigantic muffins.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or just plain milk with a few tbsp. of lemon juice rested for 5 mis)
4 tilapia fillets
2/3 cup breadcrumbs (for extra crunch use Panko breadcrumbs)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp. salt and pepper each
2 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions:
- Soak the tilapia in a shallow bowl with buttermilk for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 218 °C (425 °F). Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt and pepper on a plate. Coat an oven dish with olive oil, or for extra crispiness, coat a baking tray.
- Drain the buttermilk from the fish and dip the tilapia into the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides. Place in the oven dish, or on the baking tray, and do the same for the 3 other tilapia fillets. If desired, coat with even more cheese!
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork. If using the baking tray method, flip the fishes halfway into the baking time.
- Serve hot with a drizzle of lemon juice over top.
A Kitchen Fable 