Lemon Pepper Tilapia

Since fish seems to be the theme lately, I figured I'd throw my hat into the culinary ring.

Tilapia is a small, white fleshed fresh water fish.  It is unfortunately low in the current health tread omega-3 fatty acids, but its small size and diet result in low mercury levels, which can be a concern among the fattier fish like salmon or swordfish.

It's worthy to note that this preparation would work equally well for any small, white fish...sea bass, thin cod or haddock filets, trout, even catfish...although it would be just criminal not to use the breaded variation for the catfish.

On to the recipie...

There's 2 preps that go along the same basic lines, one results in a more fish fry like meal, the other in a more "pan seared" product.

For both you'll need:

Tilapia filet(s)
Kosher Salt
2 lemons/filet
Fresh ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Fresh chopped parsely

Zest the lemons into a bowl (zest with a microplane grater).  Grind in a ton of black pepper.  Depending on how much you like.  Mix this up and let it sit for a few minutes.  Season the fish well with kosher salt.  Chop the parsely.

After 3-4 minute, cover both sides of the fish in the pepper and zest mixture.  Massage it into both sides.  At this point, if you want the fish breaded, dredge in either some seasoned bread crumbs or AP flour.  Let the fish sit for another couple of minutes while you heat up a non-stick pan.  Choose a pan that is only 10-15% larger in surface area than the fish you're cooking.  You want enough room for liquid to evaporate but not a lot of area for material to that falls off the fish to burn.

Heat a small amount of oil in the pan, over medium high heat, until it shimmers and moves around the pan freely. 

Here's where it gets complex.  Overcooking fish is a bad thing.  You want it just cooked, no farther.  For a standard tilapia filet, on my stove, over medium high heat, thats 3 minutes a side.

So place the fish in the pan, and dont futz with it.  Don't check to see if its done, don't shake the pan, don't move it.  It's gonna hiss spit and throw a fit.  Let it, you're using a non-stick pan, the fish is warm after the time its sat letting stuff adhere and soak in, and you have oil in the pan...it shouldn't stick.

After 3 minutes, flip it over.  Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top.  Add a tiny bit more oil to the pan, swirl the pan around a bit, and let it sit for 3 more minutes.

After 3 minutes, evacuate the fish to a plate, garnish with the chopped parsley, squeeze on the other half of the lemon, and enjoy.