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Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia w/ Avocado Cream

(recipe, Anna Conley)

Introduction

While I've seen it done a thousand times, I've never used cornmeal to bread anything before. I figured the cornmeal would add a really great extra crunchy texture to the breading (which it did) but what caught me off guard was how it added a layer of sweetness as well. It was crunchy, crispy, sweet (and with a good pinch of salt to balance it all out at the end) perfectly salty too! So just like I said earlier, this fish was "YUM SCRUM". http://www.danispies.com/archives/seafood/post_1.php

Ingredients

  1. 1 lb. of tilapia (4-6 filets)
  2. 2 eggwhites
  3. 1 cup of ground cornmeal
  4. 1 Tbsp. of paprika
  5. ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
  6. Salt and pepper to taste
  7. 1 avocado
  8. 2 Tbsp. plain Greek style yogurt
  9. Juice of half a lime
  10. Pinch of salt

Steps

  1. Peel and pit the avocado before chopping into chunky pieces. Place the avocado in a mini food processor along with the yogurt, limejuice, and salt.
  2. Blend everything together until you have a nice creamy sauce. Feel free to play with the texture by adding more or less yogurt and/or a bit of milk or water. Set aside until ready to serve.
  3. Combine the cornmeal, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a wide shallow dish or bowl. Place your egg whites in another bowl with similar characteristics.
  4. Season each tilapia fillet with salt and pepper. Dip seasoned fillet into the egg whites and then dredge it in the cornmeal mixture. Place on a rimmed baking sheet until ready to cook.
  5. Once you have all of your tilapia seasoned and coated heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over a medium high heat.
  6. Right before placing the tilapia into the hot pan, lightly mist each one with a bit of cooking spray (this will ensure even browning without having to add too much oil into the pan) and place in pan “sprayed-side” down.
  7. Mist the opposite side of the fillets while they are cooking and after a bout two minutes flip the fish and cook for another two minutes or so. You are looking for the fish to just cook through while having a nice crispy, browned exterior.
  8. Hit each one with a pinch of salt when they are done and top with a tablespoon of Avocado Cream. Enjoy!