BLACKENED TILAPIA

I love Tilapia, especially when I can find them fresh. That means no fishy smell and not mushy. THANK YOU Costco! and no, they’re not sponsoring my blog :-). Let’s talk about fish. It seems like everyone focuses on salmon because it is the best sources of protein, has all kinds of vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fat. Don’t get me wrong, I love salmon and all fish. I just feel like tilapia is underrated. While it doesn’t contain the high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, it’s leaner and therefore lower in calories. But let’s face it, all fish is good for you, and like my dad used to say – “eating fish makes you smart, because it’s great for your brain”. I truly believe him. So, if you like fish like I do, here are other fish recipes for you.

Sweet Sriracha Rosemary Glazed Salmon

Salmon with Tamarind Sauce

Grilled Salmon and Asparagus with Aioli Sauce

Itchy Tilapia

Tilapia in Parchment

Tilapia is also wonderfully easy and quick to cook, and its meat is light and juicy. Plus, it’s awesome when covered with the flavorful Cajun spice and cooked in hot pan, known as ‘blackening’. What’s blackening? It’s a cooking technique used in the preparation of fish and other food. The original way is to dip the food in melted butter and then sprinkled with a mixture of herbs and spices. Then, it goes into a hot pan. The characteristic brown color of the crust results from the charred spices.

The tricky part is to find the right ratio of the spices. Many times when I had blackened food at the restaurants, all I tasted was the burnt spices and most of the time it’s just salty. So, I made my own. Problem solved! Tada….. It has paprika, dried oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, light brown sugar, garlic powder, and salt. This Cajun spice rub is also great on other meat like chicken, pork or shrimp. One thing though, I don’t dip it in melted butter. I think the spice rub stays on the meat or in this case the fish, better. But hey, it’s your Blackened Tilapia, your call.

I also like to serve it with some Mango Salsa. Use the link here to get the Mango Salsa recipe.  It’s sweet/tart, fresh and goes so well with the Blackened Tilapia.

Let’s cook some food!

Prepare the Cajun spice rub. In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of paprika, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, ½ teaspoon of cumin, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Next, sprinkle the spice rub all over the tilapia fillets.

Heat the olive oil in a pan, medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the tilapia fillets.

Cook a few minutes per side, until reddish-brown on the outside.

Serve hot with some Mango Salsa. Enjoy!

I really hope you give this Blackened Tilapia a try and please let me know how it goes, the recipe card and comment box is below.