Pecan Crusted Tilapia with Rum Butter Sauce

I was reminded of how good this recipe is last night when I made it. It was really good! It was simple to prepare and my kids ate it. The good thing about tilapia is that it doesn't taste very "fishy." So if you're scared of fish, this might be one for you to try. Also, don't let the rum title scare you away, I substituted juice for the rum. Enjoy!

picture from Southern Living

Pecan Crusted Tilapia
adapted from Southern Living January 2009

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pecans

4 tilapia fillets

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp butter

Golden Rum-Butter Sauce (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Process pecans in a food processor until finely chopped. *I just used chopped pecans because I like hunks of pecans in dishes as opposed to chips. Sprinkle fillets with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. (I actually did not measure the amounts of seasonings, I just sprinkled over the fish.) Dredge fish in finely chopped pecans.

2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add fish, and cook 3-4 minutes on each side until well browned and fish flakes easily with fork. Serve with Golden Butter Rum Sauce (below).

Golden Butter Rum Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter

1 shallot, minced ( I didn't have this so I used the white part of 2 green onions.)

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp rum (I substituted 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice for this)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

*I also added the left over pecans from the fish to this sauce.

Directions:

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat; add shallot (or green onion) and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until shallot or onion are tender. Reduce heat to low, and slowly whisk in the rum (or juice) and next 4 ingredients and remaining 2 Tbsp butter. *Add pecans at this point if you're going to add them to the sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute; serve warm over the fish. YUM!!