Tilapia is In

The current issue of Everyday Food (Martha Stewart’s mini food magazine) profiles Tilapia, a freshwater fish common in Africa, and now available widely in the U.S. The first time we had Tilapia was at Lake Victoria in Tanzania, and we’re excited to see it hitting the markets and restaurant menus at home.

It’s a versatile fish; like flounder, you can bake, broil, steam, sauté and grill. The flesh is low-fat, with a mild and slightly sweet flavor. Tilapia rates high on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program because it is farm-riased in insland re-circulating systems that have little impact on the environment. They are fed inexpensive vegetable-based foods, which make them a great source of eco-friendly protein.

The article includes three different recipes, (Baked Tilapia with Fresh Herbs, Manhattan Fish Chowder, and Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Salsa.) All the recipes look easy and delicious; why not try Tilapia this week?

Comments (12)

tilapia is in? i must have been fashionable for years. it's a cheap fish and found it available at the african/latin grocers. it great in spicy stews and tacos. finally tilapia is getting respect.

oh my god, did anyone ever see the episode of "cookin' in brooklyn" where alan cooks an entire meal composed ONLY of ingredients found in brooklyn, including tilapia raised at one of the colleges in the borough of kings?
it was pretty funny to see someone "fishing" in a huge steel vat that looked more like it should hold beer than testy fishies!
much like poor wylie's crushing defeat by batali recently on "iron chef america"
i'd say tilapia is definitely the "it" fish of 2006!

It's like the Chinese restaurant here that has a whole tank of tilapia, packed together glumly in green water, next to the front door. Nothing like fresh fish.

Tilapia has been very common, here in Florida anyway, for some time. It's like a blank fish, so delicate in texture and no pungency of taste. I like to pan fry it very quickly with olive oil and butter, then make a 30-second sauce with capers, the cooking fat, and white wine. Heavenly. And dangerous - I got a set of spectacular oil burns on my arm once, cooking that dish. But it was worth it.

This tasteless fish offers nothing to the gourmet.

Anyone see the new episode of "Iron Chef America" where the secret ingredient was live tilapia? Mario Batali kicked ass.

I love tilapia! Awesome recipe (and pic) I had last night using tilapia... and anyone that's doing weight watchers it's only 4 points. It's here:

http://www.myaimistrue.com/archives/2006/01/greek_tilapia.html

What I love about cooking with tilapia is that it does not fall apart like other white fish while cooking. Costco has Tilapia loins (the most tender and boneless part of the fish) vacuum packed individually and flash frozen - they are great and they are about $6 per pound (comes in 2 pound packs with about 10-14 loins in each pack). I love that each loin is packed individually, it makes it so easy to take a couple out to defrost before leaving for work.

I guess people like it because it's such a mild 'nothing' fish.
BUT
You gotta mind where that fish comes from -- tilapia is grown in disasterously poor aquaculture in some parts of the world.

People complain of a muddy flavor that is the result, and the environmental repercussions are much worse than poor quality and taste.

The newest issue of Cooking Light has a recipe for tilapia with cilantro butter which I made recently (substituting lime juice/zest for lemon juice/zest where indicated). It was pretty tasty.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenblossom/86024241/

Just to reiterate: tilapia farming in South and Central America is massively destructive and has completely trashed the local riparian biodiversity. North American tilapia is quite eco-friendly, and the stuff from Asia is usually ok.

looking to purchas live talapia to harest and having trouble getting through to anyone. HELP! marylu

Sorry, but Tilapia from China and Taiwan is not suitable:

from Monterey Bay web site on safe seafood choices for 2007:

Avoid farmed tilapia from China and Taiwan, where escapes, pollution and weak management are common. Your best choice is tilapia grown in the U.S. in environmentally-friendly closed systems. Good alternatives are tilapia raised in Central America in ponds, tanks and raceways.

I see above that the fish from Central American is trashing the local riparian biodiversity so I guess your best bet is North American tilapia.