Pan-Seared Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa

I was having one of those weeks recently.

You know, one of those weeks when you're sick for no reason. You can't get in touch with the one person who can make your day no matter what. You can't come up with a new recipe for your blog. You find out that your troublesome student does, in fact, has a history of behavioral problems.

But hey, such is life. You just gotta accept it and move on to the good stuff.

Like figuring out how to put tilapia and pineapple together.

To be honest, I had no idea how this would turn out. But I thought, hey, this week's been bad enough already, so let's just go with it. A scant cup of diced pineapples here. Hmm...how about some red onions? A squeeze of lime juice...okay, more than one squeeze. And so on.

You can always adapt a recipe to how you like your food. Too bland? Add more salt. Like it spicy? Add a splash of Tabasco. It's your food- have some fun with it :)

 I used fresh pineapples, but you can use canned ones, if you like. Worried about the pineapple-lime combo? No worries. A small amount of sugar balances out the acidity.










Red onions have the most gorgeous red-purple color, so I wanted to add them to the salsa. Have you caught on to the fact that I love, love, love onions?


This particular onion was a cutie, so I took a picture.

Tilapia is a super mild fish that easily takes on the flavors of whatever you pair with it. It flakes off easily with a fork. Plus it's low in calories, and high in protein. What an awesome fish. 

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa

*makes 3 very small servings*

Ingredients:

- Three 3-4 oz. packets of frozen tilapia, thawed and rinsed

- 1 cup diced pineapples (if using from a can, drain)

- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion

- a handful of cilantro, chopped

- juice of one lime

- 1 tsp sugar

- 2 Tbsp dry white wine

- salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the pineapple, cilantro, onion, and lime. Combine in a bowl and toss. Sprinkle the sugar and toss again. Set aside.

2. Place the thawed and rinsed tilapia fillets on a piece of paper towel on a plate. Pat dry. (If the fillets aren't fully thawed or fully patted dry, the water from the fish won't react so nicely with the oil in the pan)

3. Once the pan heats up over medium-high heat, drizzle olive oil, then place the fillets on the pan to cook on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper the fillets.  Depending on what size fillet you cook, check the bottom to make sure that it's just shy of golden brown. Too white of a color means it's undercooked. Flip the fillets once they're cooked to a good color. Pour the wine on top. Salt and pepper for the second time.

4. Cook for about a minute, then transfer to a plate and top with salsa.

5. Enjoy and plan your next dinner party around this dish.

Source: the functioning part of my cerebral cortex