Cooking Up Something Fishy

Suzanne Nelson and her husband Brad raised their family of five children right here in Peachtree Corners. As you can imagine, there was much time spent cooking lots of good food for the family and many friends. I remember fondly enjoying a loaf of Nelson’s homemade sour dough bread. Yum!

The children have grown and gone, many of them now having children of their own. One of the things that they took along with them was the love of cooking. Nelson’s oldest daughter Emily shared the following recipe with her and it quickly became a new family favorite. 

Quick and easy to prepare, this is a recipe that can be put together even after a day at work. You may find that you already have all of the ingredients on hand except for the fish. 

Pecan Crusted Tilapia with Citrus Sauce

Ingredients:
tilapia- enough for however many people you’re serving (a very technical quantity)
½-1 cup chopped pecans (enough to coat all of the fish)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
olive oil

sauce:
3 Tb butter
1 shallot minced (or 1 Tb. finely chopped onion)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb rum (may substitute more lemon juice)
2 Tb fresh orange juice
salt to taste

Prep:

Season tilapia with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Process the pecan halves in a food processor or blender until they are crumb-like. (if you process them too long, they will turn into a paste like consistency. Not good.) You may use already chopped pecans.

Dredge/coat the tilapia fillets in the pecan crumbs.

In olive oil, saute tilapia in a pan over medium high heat, 3-4 minutes per side or until browned and fish flakes easily.

Sauce: Prepare sauce while fish is cooking.

In a saucepan heat 1 Tb of olive oil over medium high heat and then add the onion and garlic.  

Cook 3-5 minutes or until the onion is tender. 

Add fruit juices and rum, if desired, and bring to a boil.  

Reduce the heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.  

Serve sauce over fish.