Whenever I visit a coastal location overflowing with fresh fish and seafood I tend to fantasize a bit about what it would be like to live there. I think about how creative I could be in the kitchen and even how my health would benefit. I’ve experienced this daydreaming all across the world, a couple years ago while visiting Howth, Ireland, last October in Hong Kong and then again in November in San Francisco.
Central Kentucky is pretty far away from all of these places and while I may live in a coastal location someday, I certainly don’t right now. Even though our fish isn’t always coming straight from the ocean, I’ve been trying to keep it regularly on our menu lately.
I still have a lot to learn. This goes for both proper preparation methods and sustainable practices. I’ve got a good grasp on the best sources for meats and poultry, but fish is an area I’m still learning about – the benefits, the risks, the best sources, the most sustainable options.
For now I’m settling for the frozen options we have available here, most often salmon and tilapia. I prefer the former, my husband the latter. Well, last night was his night and we enjoyed some tilapia.
When it comes to crunchy coatings on fish, I tend to always reach for the pecans. Last night I was feeling like I wanted something different so I thought I would give walnuts a try. In addition to that, I’ve been trying to cook with my virgin coconut oil more so I saw this as the perfect opportunity.
I used egg to help coat the fish, but I’m sure buttermilk or something similar would work fine too. The walnuts were every bit as good as pecans and the coconut oil made the coating nice and crunchy giving it only a slight coconut flavor. I’m thinking this is something that would work great on salmon and chicken too.
Walnut Crusted Tilapia
3 tilapia fillets, fresh or thawed
¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped
¼ cup bread crumbs
½ tsp garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
Combine the walnuts, bread crumbs, and seasonings on a plate and set aside. Gently coat the fish in egg and place the fillets in the bread crumb mixture. This makes enough to cover one side generously or the whole fillet sparingly.
Heat the coconut oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Place the fillet in the skillet, coating side down if you just covered one side. Gently press the fish into the pan with a spatula. Allow it to cook about 3 minutes, then flip and cook 3 minutes more. The fish is done when it turns from opaque to white and begins to flake. You may need to reduce the heat a bit if your coating begins to darken too quickly before the fish is fully cooked. Serves 3, or for us, 2 for dinner and 1 for lunch sometime later this week.
Looks so so good! I’m making Josh tilapia tonight and if I had walnuts, I’d be making this (I just ran out!!). Access to fresh seafood is a wonderful thing. I feel very lucky that we have a lot of local/fresh seafood in our area. Hope you have a good day
You had Fish Tuesday too?! Whee! 😀
I get frozen seafood because it’s all I can find. I would love to find a fishmonger where I can purchase fresh seafood because I would really like to make some clams or mussels. However I’ve got nothing. I make sure to look on the package to see if it’s wildcaught because a lot are farm raised. I have yet to find wild caught shrimp though!
That does look tasty. We need to get back into eating more fish too
Love the healthy crust!
Yes, fresh seafood is a wonderful thing. But the way the fishing industry works is that they throw the fish on ice on the boat, cover it with ice, then throw the next day’s fish on top, cover that with ice, etc. Which is where the expression “top of the catch” came from. It’s the fish from the last day that boat was out.
These days, I think there are many boats which freeze the fish right on board, so what comes to you frozen can, in fact, be much fresher than “fresh” fish! So eat and enjoy! (Especially with coconut oil and walnuts…yummmm!)
This looks like a wonderful recipe! Love that you added coconut oil.
I am not a big fish fan, but tilapia is one that I DO kind of like – nice and mild. This looks like a great one that we would all enjoy. Thanks for posting!
I love tilapia, and this dish sounds about perfect. You’ve reminded me, I need to cook more fish. Thanks for that!
Erica – Thanks! I try to enjoy the fresh stuff when we travel. At least I have that. Ha, ha! 🙂
Andrea – Ha, ha! Yes, I guess we did. I try to pay attention to those details too and I’m trying to learn more about what is overfished and all that too.
kat – We’re trying to fit in more, but the variety is a bit limited.
Maria – Thanks!
Toni – Thanks so much for the info. Much appreciated!
FLandB – I’m trying to use it more both for health and to vary my olive oil and butter use.
Cathy – That’s why it’s one of my husbands favorites too.
OysterCulture – Yes, you should, being surround by all that water. 😉 Ha, ha! Just saying that cause I’m jealous. Although, there crab would get more of my attention I think.
The walnut crust sounds excellent!
We’re on the same, er, boat – ocean fish is generally available frozen although there is one great fish market that has fresh fish flown in daily. Otherwise, lake fish like walleye is much more common. Either way, fish is delish! (Gotta stop with the cheesiness – where’s my coffee?)
Looking for a new way to prepare tilapia and came across your recipe. Since it was for tonight’s dinner I had to use what I had in the house – pinon nuts instead of walnuts, corn bread stuffing instead of bread crumbs and grilled instead of fried. Got a big thumbs up from the hubby and kids. Thanks!
Andrea in Glendale AZ
Great recipe! I’ve been looking for a walnut fish recipe and the portion size on this is perfect. I’ve started a very new cooking blog, do you mind if I try this recipe and link back to you?
CA – Absolutely. Thanks for asking first. Hope it turns out well for you!