Let's eat!

Baked Tilapia with Vegetables

I found this recipe last year in a cookbook that I've had for years. Many years. Years and years and years. I don't know why I never noticed it before, but once I did, oh my. It's a keeper for sure.

The original recipe calls it "Fish en Papillote". That means that you are supposed to cook the fish in a little paper packet and present it to your peeps with a french flair. Frankly, it's a lot of work to cut out all those parchment paper circles, wrap up each portion in the paper, and make all those fussy folds. Then there's the ordeal of eating your fish en papillote - you have to cut it open at the table and deal with the paper on your plate during dinner. My family were not fans of that process, so I started baking it in a cake pan or a roasting pan or whatever pan was handy at the time. And you know what? The fish turns out perfectly every time. I'm telling you - it's hard to mess up tilapia (which, by the way, means "fish").

We have it for dinner at my house about once every week or so. One time I cooked it for my Good Friend D for lunch when she was over here watching movies with me. Now she cooks it for her family too. It's super fast, super easy, and delish. It's good for your bod, too, figure-friendly and heart-healthy, made with lots of fresh vegetables and extra-virgin olive oil. But you will make it again and again because it's so tasty.

Baked Tilapia with Vegetables

(use as much or as little of these ingredients as needed to feed your family)

• tilapia filets, one per person
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• dried oregano
• zucchini
• plum tomatoes
• small onion
• sliced black olives (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lay the tilapia filets in a baking dish and drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each filet with about 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano.

Thinly slice the zucchini, tomatoes, and onions. I used half of the small onion.

Arrange the vegetables on top of the filets. Leave them off if your kids won't touch the veg. At my house, Jake gets his tilapia without vegetables. You really have to pick your battles, you know?

Lightly drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. It makes all the difference in the world to season both the fish and the vegetables instead of just putting all the flavor on the very top. You want your dinner to be tasty all the way down to the last bite. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. The fish will flake easily with a fork when it's done. In my oven, 25 minutes is exactly right.


Serve with any kind of carb as a side dish. We usually have it with garlic-herb rice pilaf, but a whole-wheat dinner roll or a corn muffin is good too.

Make this for dinner tonight! Your heart will thank you, your arteries will clear, and your loved ones will love you back.

Oh, and "papillote"? It's a fun word, don't you think? All French and fancy and ooh-la-la. But trust me, it's a hassle.