Fast and Easy Summertime Food- Cornmeal Crusted Fish with Black Eyed Pea Salad

One of the most common search phrases that leads people to this little blog here is either "Cornmeal crusted Tilapia" or "Cornmeal Tilapia". Which the other day reminded me that I had plenty of fish in the freezer and hadn't used this recipe in awhile. I thought I would make and share the recipe again, since it seems to be such a popular one. And on the side I decided to make a really great salad. This is one of the first recipes I tried when Josh and I decided to try eating better, and I still love it. It's really delicious, first off, but it's also really quick to toss together; the corn and bell pepper make it particularly great for the summer. Who wants to spend forever in a hot kitchen during the summer months anyway? Not me. So a quick fish fry up and a no-cook salad is a sure-fire combo for summer cooking success.

Cornmeal Crusted Fish
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4


1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons paprika
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 (6-8 oz. each) skinless tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons olive oil

• In a shallow dish, combine cornmeal and paprika; season generously with salt and pepper. Separate fillets into thick and thin sides. Dredge each piece in cornmeal mixture, patting it on to coat completely.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook as many pieces as will fit (without crowding) until golden brown and firm, about 2 minutes per side for thin pieces and 4 minutes per side for thick ones. Transfer to a plate; sprinkle with salt, if desired, and cover loosely to keep warm. Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining oil and fish.

Black Eyed Pea Salad
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 10 oz. package frozen corn, thawed
1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper

• In a medium bowl, whisk mustard, vinegar and oil. Add all vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, toss to combine. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled.

My notes: I used trout that we had in the freezer from my father-in-law, so don't feel like you have to limit yourself to tilapia. I also used this recipe to make some great fish tacos before. Summer puts me in a mood for Mexican, so I'll probably be making those again soon too.

Fishy Delishy

Last week Josh informed me that we were the recipients of some fresh little trout fillets from his Dad's recent fishing trip. My brain was buzzing with ideas. It occurred to me that the best thing I could make would be something that had been haunting me since I learned of it on this episode of Mexico One Plate at a Time- Ceviche. I searched through several recipes online, and remembering what I also saw on the episode, I came up with a general recipe. Josh forgot the fish that night, which was quite depressing after juicing 7 limes, but when he brought it home the next night I cut it all up in preparation. It was amazing to see the fish actually cook in the lime juice! I'll post my recipe below, and after some comments about how I came around to my personal version of this delicious Latin appetizer salad.

Jessica's Trout Ceviche
Recipe from me!











1/2 to 1 lb. fresh trout fillets, cut to 1" pieces
Juice of 6 or 7 limes
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded & diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small avocado, diced
1 1/2 Roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 jalapeno, seeded & ribbed, minced
Plenty of cilantro, well torn or chopped
Coarse salt

• Cover trout in lime juice in a plastic container with lid or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours, allowing juice to cook fish.
• Drain and discard juice from fish. Toss all vegetables and cilantro together. Add fish and mix. Salt to taste. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate to allow flavors to mingle. Serve with tortilla chips, tortillas, or crackers.
  

My notes: A lot of the recipes I came across involved mixing a sort of dressing from olive oil & red wine vinegar. I did mix this dressing up, but I didn't like the taste of it, so I didn't use it. If you're interested in trying it that way, just mix equal parts oil & vinegar. The recipe I referenced the most used 1/4 cup of each. Also, the cilantro is a personal preference kind of thing. I love cilantro, so I used plenty of it. And I ended up using quite a bit of salt, because I over-soaked the fish a little bit and it helped temper the strong lime flavor that resulted. But overall I enjoyed this dish immensely. Josh liked it, but a big batch of fresh raw veggies, especially onions and peppers, really isn't his thing. It is however my thing, and thusly I ate the majority of it. I served this ceviche for dinner along with some tortilla chips, veggie quesadillas and Dos Equis with lime. Heaven.