I paired these two pieces with a simple cous cous, but feel free to substitute or just make extra squash croquettes to make a meal out of just the fish and squash. You should also go ahead and make extra arugula pesto and store it for other opportunities throughout the week. It's great on breads, sandwiches, chicken, and vegetables. Think of a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch with arugula pesto and tomato or cheese. Yum!
Time: 40 min
Difficulty: easy
Squash Croquettes
While I make this with summer squash you could substitute other kinds or even zucchini without causing problems. Let me know if you do and tell us how they are!
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
4-5 yellow summer squash
1/2 tsp olive oil
3/4 c green onions, diced
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 c shredded low-fat cheese (such as cheddar)
2 eggs
1 tbsp canola oil
Slice the squash in half lengthwise and place in a microwaveable dish. Sprinkle with a couple teaspoons of water and microwave for 5ish minutes or until the inside of the squash is soft and mushy. (Check periodically.) Use a fork to scrape out the inside of the squash and put it in a bowl. It should now be mushy and in pieces from the scraping.
Heat a fry pan over medium to medium high heat and then add the 1/2 tsp of olive oil. Add the green onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Add them to the squash and set the pan aside. (You will use it again shortly.)
Add the breadcrumbs, sugar, black pepper, cheese, and eggs to the mixture and mix well to make sure the ingredients are evenly combined. It should be thick yet a little gooey, and should hold together a bit from the eggs.
Heat the pan again over medium high heat and add 1 tsp of your canola oil. Once the oil is hot, form 4 or so patties (however many fit in your pan) from the squash mixture, using slightly wet hands. (Wetting them first helps form them nicely.) Carefully place them in the pan so that they keep their patty shape. Cook for 3 or so minutes, or until the patty is browned enough that a slightly crispy coating forms and you can slide a spatula underneath and flip the patty without breaking it. You can always test a corner first; if the patty doesn't lift up easily and stay together with gentle handling, let it cook a little longer. Cook for another 3 or so minutes on the other side or until lightly browned on both sides. Remove the patties from the pan and set on a plate.
Add the next teaspoon and repeat, then do this one last time. By that point all of your patties should be cooked and it is time to eat.
Arugula Pesto Crusted Tilapia
Time: 35 min
Ingredients:
1/2 c chopped pecans (can substitute if you prefer)
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
3 c arugula leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 lb Tilapia fillets
(1 tbsp Parmesan extra - optional)
This is pretty straightforward! So first, let's make the pesto. This makes more than you need for the fish but remember, it's great on everything.
Preheat your oven to 400.
Put the pecans, Parmesan, arugula, garlic, olive oil, black pepper, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until it looks and feels like pesto. This means it should be fairly smooth (bits of nuts are okay) and slightly-paste like but not quite as thick as a paste. Adjust any ingredients slightly if needed.
Grease a glass baking dish and place the Tilapia in, skin side down. Use a spoon to liberally spread the pesto on top of the fish, entirely covering it in a crust-like topping. If you want, use an extra tablespoon of grated Parmesan and sprinkle it lightly over the tops of the crusted fillets.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish is baked through and flakes easily.
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