Inspiration: I love cooking with fish. During the week, I feel great when we eat really healthy meals, and preparing supper with fish is one of the easiest ways to do that. We usually eat seafood at least twice per week, and one of my new cooking goals is to experiment more with creating my own recipes. This meal is a result of that effort.

What we Loved: I loved the overall flavor of this dish. I simply mixed some roasted red pepper spread into my polenta, and it created a really strong red pepper flavor and a gorgeous color. I couldn’t get over how pretty the polenta looked on the plate! The simple corn salsa that I threw together also complimented both the polenta and the fish really well, and I particularly liked the added flavor and crunch of the red onions, which I would be more liberal with next time.

Helpful Hints: Any whitefish that you prefer would work great in this recipe, though I really like the flaky quality of tilapia.

Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Roasted Red Pepper Polenta
Source: Original Recipe to serve 2

Tilapia filets (I used four small)
1/8 cup cornmeal
Salt and pepper
Paprika
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup polenta
1/3 cup Trader Joe’s roasted red pepper spread with garlic and eggplant, or something similar
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/3 can chopped green chiles
1 slice red onion, diced

1. In a small bowl, combine the corn, green chiles, and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Add two cups of water to a sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Slowly pour the polenta into the pan, stirring to ensure that it doesn’t clump. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the polenta is thickened. Add the red pepper spread and mix to incorporate. 

3. While the polenta is cooking, mix the cornmeal and a sprinkling of salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and coriander in a shallow bowl. Dredge the fish filets in the mixture and set aside. Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan, and when it is hot, add the fish and cook for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

4. Serve the fish atop the polenta, topped with the corn salsa.