Cooking with Kurt: Tilapia with Olive/Caper Relish

I love fish… I just hate cooking it because it makes the apartment smell like fish for a week!  I spent last night lighting over a half a dozen candles to drown out the smell.  And guess what?  It still smells…  Once you do cook it and make a very tasty meal though, it is well worth the effort.  Here, tilapia is a light and rather tasteless fish, so I’ve tried to pair it with a salty and complex buttery relish to enhance the natural flavors.

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets
1 large yellow Pppper
1 very small red onion or 2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
3-4 tbsp capers
1/2 cup of sliced kalamata olives
Cilantro
1/2 stick of butter (unsalted)
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper
Lemon

Cooking

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Mince your garlic and finely dice your onion/shallots.  Cut your yellow pepper into slices and place the slices on a lightly greased (you can use cooking spray) baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Flip each slice over and bake for another 10 minutes.  Here, we will be doing a quick roast of the peppers.

Heat a large pan (not non-stick) and add a liberal amount of oil to coat the bottom of your frying pan.  We don’t want your fish to stick.  Gently place 2 fillets into your very hot frying pan and just sear each side for no longer than 3 minutes per side.  If your pan can not accomodate more than 2 fillets, you can transfer the cooked fish to a glass baking dish.  Once you are done with your fish, throw the pan/baking dish in the oven for 10 minutes.

Now for the relish.  Take a small saucepan and gradually melt your butter.  I use unsalted because I like to know how much salt I add to my dishes.  Once your butter is melted, add 3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to it.  This will give the butter a nice fruity and nutty flavor.  Bring up the heat on your saucepan and add your garlic and onions/shallots (1/8 cup finely diced) and quickly sweat them.  Add your capers and olives and incorporate them into your butter mixture.  Once your fish is done, add your quickly roasted peppers to the relish and toss to mix.

When you plate your fish, add 2-3 heaping spoonfuls to the top of each fillet with some chopped cilantro and enjoy!  Don’t forget your lemon wedge!