Every home has its staple recipes that you just can’t get enough of. You know, those easy to make/quick to cook/packed with flavor/everyone wants to eat the same thing meals. Well in my house, one of those staples is tilapia. It’s cheap, easy and quick to cook and it basically takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it. I’ve even posted an incredible recipe for Brazilian Fish Stew right here on Kitchen Tested that I could literally eat every night of the week! So I decided to change it up a little and try using tilapia in a new way. For this recipe, I was inspired by fish tacos that are usually a special treat when I go out for lunch at Fish Plate in my neighborhood or at Fish Grill (when I visit California…which doesn’t happen often enough). I crushed up tortilla chips to coat the fish, baked it to crispy perfection then served with my favorite fish taco toppings. To top it all off, I made a homemade compound butter with creamy avocados that I can’t wait to put on everything that comes through my kitchen. Even a shoe would taste good with avocado compound butter!
Tortilla Chip Crusted Tilapia
4 pieces tilapia
6 oz. chili flavored tortilla chips (around 36 chips)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, whisked
Avocado Compound Butter
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbsp butter, softened (can make non-dairy with margarine or Earth Balance Natural Spread)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Toppings
shredded cabbage
chopped cilantro
fresh lime juice
I started with the avocado compound butter to give it time to solidify. In a food processor, I combined the avocado, softened butter, lemon juice, dried oregano and salt and blended until smooth.
I spread out a large piece of plastic wrap on my cutting board and dolloped the smoothed avocado butter on to the plastic. I shaped the butter into a rectangular shape.
I rolled the plastic wrap around the avocado butter into the shape of a log and twisted the ends tight so there were no air bubbles. I labeled the rolled butter then placed the log in the freezer to solidify.
While the avocado compound butter was solidifying, I baked the fish. I preheated the oven to 375 degrees F. and set a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. I combined the chips and fresh cilantro in a food processor, chopped until fine and poured the mixture on to a plate. In a separate wide-bottom bowl, I whisked the egg.
I sprinkled the tilapia with salt, dipped in the egg then dipped in the chip mixture. I gently pressed the fish into the chips then flipped the fish and gently pushed it into the chips again.
I placed the dipped pieces of fish on the wire rack.
I baked in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the chips were crunchy and the fish was flakey. I placed the baked fish on top of fresh crunchy cabbage and topped it with fresh chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. I removed the avocado butter from the freezer and grated it over the fish with a cheese grater. This is a great tip for slicing frozen butter so it will melt fast! The avocado butter melted right in to the fish.
And then it was time to dig in!
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