Crunchy almonds mixed with just a hint of brown sugar give just the right texture and flavor to tilapia. Use your food processor to make your own almond meal or buy it at pre-made at the store. Either way, you'll want to have this on hand so you can "bread" everything in almonds.
Ingredients
Metric
Servings:
4
Almond Crusted Tilapia:
Tilapia - 4 fillets
Almonds - 1 cup
((shortcut: buy 1 1/4 cup almond meal))
Rice - Double portions if making tomorrow night's dinner. If using white rice, rinse until clear. Heat a >3 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add butter and then diced onions to melted butter with a dash of salt. Saute until softened and translucent, ~3 minutes. Add in rice with chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer with a kitchen towel between pot and lid until all liquid has been absorbed (~25 minutes for white rice, ~50 minutes for brown)
Almonds - Pulse in a food processor until it becomes the texture of cornmeal or grits like the photo below. You can also use a blender, stick blender, mortar and pestle, or place almonds in a bag and crush with a rolling pin
Dredging stations – Mix together flour and some salt & pepper in one bowl / pan. Whisk together egg and water in second bowl / pan. Mix together almonds with brown sugar and a dash of salt in a third bowl / pan
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Preheat oven to 425F (218C) degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil
Melt butter by microwaving for 30 seconds
Dip fish into the flour mixture, then egg wash, then into the almond crumbs. Place onto sheet pan and brush on both sides with melted butter
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until almonds are golden brown
Trim green beans if necessary (this is a great kids activity - give them a pair of scissors if they're not ready for a knife). Combine with 1 tbs.(15 ml) of water in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes depending on the thickness
Toss green beans with butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste with salt
Check on fish. Once it's golden, serve with lemon wedges and a side of pilaf and your quick and easy green beans
We did enjoy the almond crust and rice pilaf, but overall this was not one the better meals we've made from Cook Smarts. To be fair -- the tilapia we got was a bit fishy; also, I'm not a huge fan of green beans and this way of preparing them did not change my mind.