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Recipes Nugget Markets Signature Recipes

Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Peach Tomato Relish

Chef de Cuisine, Vacaville

Prep time
15-20 min. PT0
Cook time
6-8 min PT0
Yield
Serves 2
Difficulty
2 out of 5 on the difficulty scale
Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia Nugget Markets signature recipes

Try this delicious recipe using Nugget’s Tilapia labeled sustainable by the FishWise program.

Ingredients

  • 4 fillets tilapia
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup corn meal, ground fine
  • 2 heirloom tomatoes, diced medium
  • 1 peach, pitted and diced medium
  • 1 shallot, brunoised
  • 8 basil leaves, chiffonaded
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
  • Kosher or sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation

In a non-reactive container, put the buttermilk, tilapia, and about 2 teaspoons salt and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

While the fish is soaking, dice up your tomatoes, shallot, peach and basil, and mix in a bowl with the rice wine vinegar; salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat.

Place the cornmeal onto a plate or other flat container and season with salt and pepper. Dredge your tilapia in the cornmeal. When your oil starts to ripple when you shake the pan, fry the fillets for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the meat starts to flake away easily.

Serve two fillets per person with a generous heaping of peach-tomato relish.

Techniques used in this recipe:

chiffonade

chiffonade: leafy vegetables or herbs cut into fine shreds or thin ribbons; often used as a garnish.

dice
dice: to cut ingredients into small cubes (1/4 inch for small, 1/3 inch for medium, 3/4 inch for large).
dredge
dredge: to coat food with a dry ingredient such as flour or bread crumbs.
brunoise
brunoise (Fr.): small dice; 1/8-inch cube is the standard. For a brunoise cut, items are first cut in julienne, then cut crosswise. For a fine brunoise, 1/16-inch square, cut items first in fine julienne.
fry
fry: to cook in fat or oil over direct heat.

Glossary:

basil

Native to tropical Asia and Africa; there are 30 to 40 different species but generally only one common to the spice industry.

The basil plant is a low-growing annual approximately 18-inches in height. When seen growing in the field, it is almost succulent in appearance and gives off a sweet fragrance as one brushes by. The leaves are quite large, up to 2 1/2-inches in length and from 1/2 to 1-inch in width. The taste of fresh Basil is reminiscent of licorice, and the dried leaves have a lemony, anise-like quality.

Basil is versatile in its uses, which are limited only by the degree of inventiveness of the cook. It has a special affinity for tonatoes and tomato-based recipes, whether they be salads, vegetables, sauces, or main courses.

buttermilk

A dairy beverage liquid with a slightly sour flavor similar to that of yogurt. Traditionally, the liquid by-product of butter churning, now usually made by culturing skim milk.

Pair with

  • Viognier

    Viognier is responsible for the prestigious wine Condrieu and is quickly gaining popularity with Californian producers. Its aromas suggest exotic honeysuckle and stone fruit, and it has a lanolinish flavor with a heavy, oily texture.

  • Albarino

    A delicious, light, lemony, often slightly fizzy wine. Not as full bodied as Chardonnay, as minerally as Riesling, or as herbal as Sauvignon Blanc. Albarino's flavors range from zingy citrus-peach to almond-honeysuckle.

  • Semillon

    In Bordeaux and California, Semillon is often blended with Sauvignon Blanc. Because of its lean tartness Sauvignon Blanc is quite the opposite of Semillon - and, as they say, "Opposites attract." Outside Bordeaux, Semillon is becoming quite popular in Australia.

  • Torrontes

    Similar in weight to Sauvignon Blanc, with more of the floral aromatics of a Viognier. A very refreshing wine - perfect for quaffing.