Oven Roasted Tilapia With Tomatoes, Pesto and Lemon

Mama's Kitchen (Hope)'s Note:

Looking for something impressive but oh so easy? This simple and delicious dish would make a great 'date night' dinner or even doubled for a dinner party. Tilapia is a really mild fish without that 'fishy' taste making this a great recipe for people who do not like fish and a wonderful meal for those who do! Pesto and tomatoes are so lovely and aromatic together and roasting allows the flavors to intensify. What a simple way to create an incredibly delicious dish. In order to soak up every delicious drop I would serve this over a simple rice like my Perfect Basic White Rice or serve it with a good crusty bread. Adding a simple green salad and a wonderful bottle of wine would make this meal totally rock! I would serve it with Chateau Ste Michele Dry Riesling. I found this recipe on http://ellysaysopa.com/2008/03/03/fish-for-people-who-dont-like-fish/ Of course I did change up a few things that I thought would make it even better. My mouth was watering so much when I read this recipe that I had to share it with you as fast as I could! If you try this before I get to the store and am able to make it please let me know what you think! After Breezermom's helpful comment I edited the directions for the pesto and lemon juice so the pesto is not runny. Thanks breezer!

• Total Time: 22 mins
• Prep Time: 2 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 5

• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes or 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pesto sauce
• 1 lemon
• 8 ounces tilapia fillets, I use 4 oz fillets
• salt and pepper

Garnish

• lemon wedge (optional)

Directions:

1. Gently combine the tomatoes, garlic and olive oil with a little salt and pepper if desired and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
2. Juice the lemon and mix SOME of the juice with the pesto, adding more if desired or needed keeping the pesto a nice spreadable consistency and not runny. (Thanks breezer mom!) Spread mixture on top of the fish which has been seasoned with a little more salt and pepper if desired.
3. Cut the juiced lemon halves in half again so that you have two pieces of lemon to support each filet. Place a filet on top of two pieces of juiced lemon so that the fish is somewhat out of any liquid that accumulates, allowing it to roast rather than boil.
4. Return to oven for about 10 minutes or until the fish is flaky and no longer opaque.
5. Plate the fish along with the tomatoes and garlic and serve with more lemon wedges if desired.

Reviews

[LifeIsGood]

Excellent fish recipe. The pesto was a wonderful addition. I also really loved the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Yummy! I was confused with the directions at one part - I wasn't sure on step 4 if I was putting the lemons/fish onto the same pan as the tomatoes and also roasting the tomatoes another 10 minutes (20 min. total?). That is what I did, and it seemed to work just fine. Thanks for posting! Made for Cookbook Tag game in the Cooking Tag Games forum.

[jennydoshi]

this was one of the best recipe and very easy to follow - you can never go wrong with these bursting flavors. Only thing I added was to have sides of asparagas and green beans, which I also marinated in bit of pesto, Olive oil, grated garlic... and also put them in the oven while cooking the fish... yummmy... is what every one said...

[sammond]

Very tasty. I also used swai & it turned out well.