This week’s Lenten fish dish is a flavor-boosted version of one of my least favorite fish. I’ve always found tilapia bland and sometimes dry, but I guess that was the fault of the cooking method and not necessarily the fish itself. This baked tilapia has a yummy Parmesan topping which keeps the fish moist and flaky. I baked some frozen mixed veggies in a foil packet along with the fish to round out the meal:

Baked Tilapia + Veggies

The crumb topping was a simple mix of Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil and melted butter. For an extra treat, I used a little truffle butter I had on hand in the topping (50/50 with regular butter–I’m stingy with the good stuff!) and carried the flavor over into some mashed potatoes to make them Truffled Mashed Potatoes. Doesn’t that just sound super classy?

Like my previous Lenten season fish recipe, this one is super easy: just mix everything together and put the topping onto the fish. Voila! I seasoned the tilapia with Tony Chachere’s before adding the topping, and in the future I would leave this off, or use a salt-less seasoning. The Tony’s+the salty Parmesan was a bit much.

The recipe serves 6, so for my single filet I used 2 T Parmesan, 1.5 T breadcrumbs, 2 tsp butter, 1 tsp olive oil.

Recipe from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s EveningEdge.com:

Baked Tilapia with Parmesan Crumb Topping
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 pounds tilapia fillets, or fish of choice
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh or canned unseasoned bread crumbs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large baking dish, season fish fillets with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, mix Parmesan with bread crumbs. Add butter and olive oil and stir well until crumbly and moist throughout. Sprinkle over the fish fillets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked and the topping is golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.