Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Tomatillo Salsa with Maple-Glazed Acorn Squash and Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

After the complicated meal blogged about yesterday, I figured we would take a step back and try something slightly simpler. For those of you not familiar with cornmeal, it's pretty fun to cook with. It's a different texture and taste than the more typical breadcrumbs and flour, yet is still simple to use. It's like having curly hair - it looks fancy when in reality it takes but a second to make...!

The mexican, yet summery, undertones of cornmeal and tomatillo salsa mixed well with some basics: potatoes and squash. Yet each was given a slightly different twist than normal with the delicate flavoring added. I found that the three dishes paired well together, and also with a crisp white wine.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
To start, get the potatoes ready and cooking. Both the potatoes and the squash will take a good deal longer than the fish to cook so you want to make sure they are in the oven before turning any attention at all to the tilapia. Start with mini red bliss potatoes. Wash them thoroughly, and with the skin still intact, cut them into either halves or quarters so they are in bite-sized amounts.

Place the potatoes in a large bowl and toss with a bit of olive oil (maybe 1 tbsp or so) along with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Put the coated potatoes into a baking dish coated with cooking spray and bake at 425 for 40-45 minutes or until tender. Check them and toss them halfway through.

Maple-Glazed Acorn Squash
Wash the acorn squash and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place in a baking dish and pour 100% pure maple syrup over them so they are just lightly coated without syrup pooling heavily in the bottom. Bake at 375 (or just do 475 if the potatoes are in the oven) for 30-40 minutes. Check them halfway through and toss to make sure they are evenly coated and no edge is burning. Check them around 30 minutes and continue to cook them until they are tender.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Tomatillo Salsa
Can anyone guess where this recipe came from? I'll give you a hint - you won't be surprised!

Although I originally followed the fish part of this recipe faithfully, I would change it for the next time. I recommend upping the amount of cornmeal and decreasing the flour. Perhaps 3/4 and 1/4 cups respectively. I enjoy the crispness and lightness of cornmeal, but when mixed in equal amounts with flour the covering tasted overwhelmingly of the latter. As for the salsa, I left out the serrano chiles because I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food. If you enjoy the extra hotness add them in, but if not the salsa was quite good without them!

Beware when you are purchasing the tomatillos that you feel for firm ones, the same way you would with a tomato. Ignore the leafy covering and do not worry if it is torn or intact. You will simply peel that off later, regardless. It is only important that the vegetable contained within is ripe.

Make sure not to start the fish until the potatoes and squash have only 10-15 minutes to go as it cooks quite quickly. Prepare the salsa earlier so that when the fish is done you can eat immediately!