Tilapia Meuniere

I love Sole Meuniere. 

It was one of my first French dinners at a wonderful restaurant in Chicago.

It's such a simple recipe that I have adapted it to use with tilapia.

Meuniere basically means dredged in flour and sauteed in butter with lemon and parsley.
It's very basic, quick and easy.
It's my favorite way to cook fish.

Start with fresh tilapia filets. One per person.
Rinse and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Flour, butter, fresh parsley are all you need.
No exact measuring.

 Dredge the filets in flour to coat;
shake off excess.

 Heat a large skillet over medium high and add
the butter, about 1 T per filet.
Let the butter melt and get bubbly hot.

Brown the fillets quickly, turning once
about 2 minutes per side.

 Carefully turn when golden brown.

 Remove the filets to plates and
keep warm in a 200 oven.

 Add the remaining butter to the skillet,
another 1 T per filet. Let it melt and turn golden
 while stirring and scraping up the browned bits.
Watch carefully, do not let the butter burn.

Remove the pan from the heat and add
 the lemon juice, about 1/2 large lemon squeezed
or 2-3 T juice. Add some of the chopped parsley.

Whisk the sauce to combine well,
 them pour this sauce over the fish and
sprinkle with more fresh parsley.

 I like to serve this with fresh steamed
green beans and gold potatoes.

The lemon butter sauce enhances the vegetables.

Tilapia Meuniere
4 tilapia filets (about 2 lbs)
salt & pepper
1/4-1/2 C flour
1/2 C butter (1 stick)
Juice of 1 lemon (3 T juice)
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Season the fish with salt and pepper. 

Dredge in flour, shaking off excess.

Saute in half the melted hot butter 

until golden on both sides-about 5 minutes.

Remove to plate and keep warm in a 200 oven.

Add the remaining butter to the skillet, 

whisking until melted and golden.

Remove the pan from the heat and

 whisk in the lemon juice.

Pour the butter sauce over the fish

 and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Bon Appetit!

 Sole Meuniere is the first dish Julia Child had for lunch in France. That is when she fell in love with French cooking. I remember the scene in the movie. She wrote about that experience in her book My Life In France.

It arrived whole: a large, flat Dover sole that was perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley on top. The waiter carefully placed the platter in front of us, stepped back, and said: “Bon appètit!

I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising perfume. Then I lifted a forkful of fish to my mouth, took a bite, and chewed slowly. The flesh of the sole was delicate, with a light but distinct taste of the ocean that blended marvelously with the browned butter. I chewed slowly and swallowed. It was a morsel of perfection.

I'll have what she's having!

Links:Somewhat Simple,
Lady Behind The Curtain,
Stone Gable

Click HERE to see another favorite tilapia recipe.