Bobby's Baked Lime Tilapia

Wasn't I just lamenting the fact that I really did not have any "new" recipes planned???? I totally forgot that tonight I had this new recipe planned!

Awhile ago, I had seen an episode of Paula's Best Dishes on the Food Network. Typically, I am not a huge Paula Deen fan, so I don't regularly watch her show. I just happened to catch this episode where her son, Bobby, was making this tilapia recipe. From the demonstration, it looked really good and fairly easy. There are only a few ingredients, which I thought was a bonus. So, I put it on the menu and then promptly forgot about it completely. That was probably about two weeks ago. This morning I pulled out my meal plan and realized that this tilapia dish was slotted for our evening meal. Thankfully, I still have the all the ingredients for it.

There is one thing that I found to be a little questionable about this dish. The recipe directions indicate that the fish should be baked on a cast iron pan (sheet pan). I don't have a cast iron baking sheet; and I don't know many people who do. Really, is a cast iron baking sheet needed???? I know cast iron gets hotter than most other pans, but I am wondering why you would need it for this tilapia recipe???? I am not sure. For my first attempt at this dish, I think I will try it in a large cast iron skillet...just to be on the safe side. I am a little skeptical. I will let you know my opinion on whether the cast iron pan is necessary or not.
I am not sure what I am going to do for a side dish. The episode showed the fish paired with a brown almond rice pilaf. While that does sound good, I may go with cheesy potatoes instead. I am a little low on brown rice, and we haven't had cheesy potatoes in quite some time. Also, I think I will steam some broccoli to go with it. I love the combo of broccoli and any kind of fish...it just seems to be the perfect veggie side dish to go with seafood. I will let you know how it all turns out.

Bobby's Baked Lime Tilapia
adapted from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 (6 to 8-ounce) tilapia fillets
Salt and black pepper to taste
1-2 limes, finely grated zest
Juice of 1-2 limes
2 Tablespoons of butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a large cast iron pan with cooking spray.
Rinse fish and pat dry; place on the prepared baking sheet. Season each fillet with salt, cracked pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Add fish to the pan. Place a pat of butter on each fillet and cook in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Here is the link to my cheesy potatoes side dish...

Jen's Top Secret Cheesy Potatoes

If you love cheese like we do; you will love these potatoes!



The Result:
The husband and I had differing opinions about this dish. I thought it was boring and just okay, but he really liked it. For me, it tasted exactly how it sounds...fish with lots of lime juice flavor (almost overpowering). It was okay...but nothing special. My husband really liked it, because it was very citrus-y. Also, I don't think the cast iron pan made one bit of a difference. There was no special cast iron flavor or anything. Overall, I don't know if I will make this recipe again. It just wasn't fantastic, and I have had better tilapia recipes. It did not blow my socks off. I guess if the husband makes a special request for this dish, I would accommodate him...but otherwise this is really not a keeper for me. Back to the drawing board for some new recipes...