Crispy tilapia

Here is a variety on fish and chips, but I believe a little healthier twist on it. I loved that the fish came out juicier, tastier, crispier – somehow better. You can use any white fish you want – cod, tilapia, haddock, halibut, bass … your choice. I had tilapia on hand.

Crispy tilapia

Ingredients:

4 portions of fish (or how many you need)
2 cups of buttermilk
1 cup of flour
1 cup of cornmeal (optional)
1 full table spoon of Old Bay Seasoning
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)
Oil for frying (I like peanut oil)

Pour buttermilk in a deep bowl and place fish in so it’s all covered in buttermilk. Let it soak for a few minutes. In the meantime mix flour and cornmeal with Old Bay Seasoning a cayenne pepper in a bowl and prepare a large plate with a few sheets of paper towels. Heat oil in large frying pan (or use deep fryer), with a fork take out a portion of fish from buttermilk, let drain for a second and place in the flour mixture.

Cover fish a press lightly so the flour sticks to the meat. Turn and repeat until the whole fish is perfectly covered with seasoned flour. Carefully place in the hot oil and continue with the rest of the fish. When fish is done (it takes just a few minutes, you can rip of a little piece at the end to see if it’s cooked through), remove it from the pan and place on the paper towels to get rid of excess oil.

You can serve it with mashed potatoes, fries, rice, salad or on its own – whatever you desire. I served it with my leftover Mexican risotto and it was really good together. A tartar sauce would be a nice touch, but I didn’t have any. My tilapia was lovely even without a dipping.

Wine pairing suggestins:

This dish is light, but the Mexican risotto with beans and spices turns it into a different story. I thought of Chardonnay since it has more body then other whites but I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy and buttery. (Big Chardonnay will work with this combination too, though).

I picked an Australian Chardonnay made by Peter Lehmann’s winery. This wine still has a body, so typical for Chardonnay, it has seen a light oak, but it also has a healthy amount of acidity a crispiness to compliment the fish.