Kent & I came up with this fish recipe today and both agreed that it was the best fish we’ve ever had, including what we’ve eaten in restaurants. This is quite amazing, considering we only just recently began eating more fish (Kent never used to like it much), and whenever we tried it in the past, I always bombed miserably. (Read about my very first success with fish fried in tallow.)
After making pesto Saturday, we were both still in the mood for more…wait until you take in the aroma, and when you taste it, you’ll be amazed at the perfect blend of flavors with the fish. It’s got ZERO carbs, too! (Something I only just realized, hours after eating it, that’s how good it was.)
FRIED FISH WITH FRESH LEMON GARLIC PESTO
- First we grabbed these herbs from out back:
1. 
A small handful of lemon balm leaves (I LOVE having that and our own mint leaves right in our yard!) – check out all the benefits in these leaves from this Wikipedia link! (If you can’t find any, you can omit and add more lemon juice.)
2. A small handful of parsley.
3. 
2 large handfuls of basil. (Sorry for these measurements, but you know what I mean.)
I ground them up in our mini food processor (in small batches) and then added the following:
- 1/2 c. olive oil (See my resources page for a quality brand of olive oil and one that is nice and mild.)
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 t. sea salt
A huge bunch of herbs grinds up to only make this much in the bowl:
But with the other ingredients the amounts were perfect. (More on that below.)
- Meanwhile, fry fish in plenty of butter, seasoned with sea salt and pepper. It just hit me – I wonder how this would be baked in a generously buttered pan…this way you wouldn’t have to stand over the stove and you could make more of it for a bigger crowd much more easily. (UPDATE: We tried this with shrimp and it was just as tasty!)
- Serve the pesto with the fish and dig in!
If you try it, let us know what you think, please. 
Note: we had about 10 pieces of medium sized Tilapia, and the amount of pesto above was perfect for our family of 6…keep in mind that the three youngest only ate the fish, though. Why is it that kids often can’t get over the color green in their food?
Part of Tasty Tuesday, Works for me Wednesday, Tuesday Twister, Things I Love Thursday, & Tempt my Tummy Tuesday.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship 08.24.09 at 1:43 am
Maybe hubby will eat this…he’s only started eating fish the last year or so. Usually I slice them thinly and coat with cornmeal and lots of cayenne and some other spices so it’s less fish, more flavor!
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Musings of a Housewife 08.24.09 at 11:53 am
Oh we love fish. YUM. I always bread my tilapia, but I like the ease of just frying it in butter. And that pesto looks amazing. I must try this!
So if I don’t have lemon balm or whatever it is, should I squeeze lemon juice in the pesto? Omigosh, I Just re-read and you said that. DUH. Making that this week!
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Martha 08.24.09 at 12:48 pm
Looks great! I’ll have to try this later this week on the bass my hubby and oldest brought home on Saturday. I’ll pick up the basil form the CSA tomorrow.
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Meagan 08.24.09 at 1:12 pm
This sounds so tasty- fish and butter!
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Lanise 08.24.09 at 7:59 pm
Do you think this would work for salmon? Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try it.
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KitchenKop 08.24.09 at 10:03 pm
Yes, I think it would work with any fish!
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Ave @ Made In Canarias 08.25.09 at 5:14 am
This looks so delicious!
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Pat@Back Porch Musings 08.25.09 at 7:37 am
Fish is a favorite of ours. We have it at least once a week. I’ll try this. Sounds wonderful!
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Kay 08.25.09 at 10:18 am
We love talapia but have a hard time locating some that’s not from China. China and Thailand don’t have clean waterways (for those who haven’t heard it’s sewage infested).
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Musings of a Housewife 08.25.09 at 10:25 am
Blech. Going to Whole Foods to get tilapia today. Will ask where it’s from.
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Jane 08.25.09 at 10:40 am
Yum! This one’s definitely a keeper. I’m going to try baking it, though. I’ll let you know how it comes out. Thanks!
Jane
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Lanise 08.25.09 at 1:32 pm
Our costco sells Talapia from South America (hondouras maybe?). I’ve read that south ameican talapia is the next bet thing if you can’t find any from the U.S.
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Julie 08.25.09 at 6:28 pm
I have a huge batch of lemon balm in my garden and am always looking for a recipe to showcase it. Thanks!
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Brenda 08.25.09 at 7:51 pm
That looks SO yummy! It is nice to have all the fresh herbs in your garden, then they are always handy for any dish you need them for!
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angie 08.25.09 at 7:59 pm
you are so lucky to have the great spice right at hand.
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darnold23 08.25.09 at 8:09 pm
YUM! I would love to invite you to join me for Crock Pot Wednesday at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. Please come check it out. Thanks so much for posting.
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Lisa@Blessedwithgrace 08.25.09 at 9:40 pm
That fish does look good. I need to eat more fish.
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KitchenKop 08.25.09 at 10:15 pm
Angie, I know – I looooooooooove it.
I made this again for dinner today but made it with shrimp instead and it was just as tasty!
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Kara 08.25.09 at 11:58 pm
This sounds absolutely delicious!! I’ve got some basil I need to use, so I’ll have to give it a try.
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Tiffany 08.26.09 at 1:34 pm
The fish looks so good! I only wish you could have posted this last week. We just had fish last night and I baked it, if I would have known about your recipe I would have tried it.
I also haven’t been a big fish eater, but am now liking it more than I used to.
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