Tilapia with lemon-garlic sauce, roasted beets, Peach-Tomato crumble

Today's meal came straight from the Farmer's Market.  I'm so thankful that we now have a large, vibrant market every Saturday at the old Pearl Brewery.  

Tilapia with Lemon-Garlic sauce.

Fish is the most basic "fast food".  The beautiful filets came from a local purveyor and were so fresh they didn't smell like fish.  

Ingredients:

zest of one lemon

Lemon, cut in half, sliced thinly to create 8 "wafers" (and lemon reserved for juicing over fish).

Butter

olive oil

3 garlic cloves, coarsely minced

4 tilapia filets

zesting the lemon

sauteing the garlic

zest is added to the garlic

fish are carefully added to the pan with thinly sliced lemon on top

In a non-stick skillet or saute pan, heat olive oil (about 1 Tablespoon) and melt 1-2 Tablespoons butter.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, then add half the lemon zest, saute another minute. 

Add fish filets, place one of the thin slices of lemon on each filet.  When the fish begins to turn opaque in color on the bottom, gently turn them over in the pan, taking care not to break the filet in pieces.  At medium heat, this will only take a few minutes. Once turned, lay the remaining lemon slices on fish, scatter remaining zest, and squeeze a small amount of lemon juice over the filets.  Saute until cooked through.  Fish will be opaque in color.  Don't overcook!  The fish will continue to cook even after you remove it from the pan.  It should be lovely and tender.  Serve immediately.

You might think this fish would be soaked in butter, but not so!  It had a buttery taste, but most of it was left in the pan after cooking.

Beets:

Beets were scrubbed, then sliced into 1/4 inch cross-sections, tossed in olive oil, then laid out in a roasting pan and lightly salted and peppered.  Roast in oven for approximately 30 minutes @ 350'F until slightly tender.  Serve.

Salad greens:

tossed with a light vinaigrette made of equal parts grapeseed oil and apple cider vinegar, a dash of turmeric, a dash of salt and pepper.  The mixture is emulsified and then tossed over the greens just before serving.  I like to plate the greens and serve the roasted beets on top of them.

Yum!

Dessert:

Peach-Tomato Crumble

This may not sound good, but trust me, it is!  I don't know what got into me this afternoon.  I started thinking about how the acidity of the tomato might enhance the flavor of the peach in this dish.  And the colors looked so good together!

Beautiful peaches and slices of tomato

tossed with Wholesome Organic Zero Carb Sweetener

This dish is sugar and gluten-free.  No one will ever know because you won't miss the flour or sugar!

Ingredients:

2 peaches, sliced

1 tomato, seeded and sliced

approximately 1/2 cup Sugar substitute, half directly on fruit, half mixed with dry ingredients*

1 cup Rolled oats

1/4 cup ground hazelnut flour

1/2 cup ground almond flour

3 Tablespoons vanilla flavored whey protein powder

dash salt

approx 6 Tablespoons butter, very cold

*if you are using a sugar substitute, add with caution.  Some have a much-sweeter taste than real sugar, some less.  The Wholesome organic zero calorie sweetener is about equal to (or slightly less) sweetness as sugar.  Here's a link to a bulk source on amazon: http://tinyurl.com/25uovu2

Slice peaches and tomato, toss with some sugar substitute, distribute in a baking dish that has been sprayed with a release agent.

In a separate bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients until well-blended

With a paring knife, shave bits of the butter onto the dry ingredients.  Mix into dry ingredients by hand by rubbing butter and ingredients together until well assimilated.  Pour over the top of the fruit.

Place in oven preheated to 350'F and bake until crust is golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.

Cool on rack.  May be served with ice cream or creme fraiche.  

This dish can be expanded to accommodate a larger number of servings.  Note:  I guessed at the amounts of these ingredients because I never measure it.  I just sort of "eyeball" it and go for it.  I guarantee you will have something good!  The family was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted.  I didn't mention the tomatoes but they noticed them immediately.  My theory was correct: the tomatoes amped-up the flavor of the peaches. 

dry ingredients

butter before being mixed into the dry ingredients

mixing....

mixed

adding the crumble mixture to the fruit

ready for the oven

after baking

plated, topped with a dollop of creme fraiche

Let me know if you give any of these dishes a try.  Enjoy!

Also:  here is a link to the Pearl Farmer's Market, in case any readers live in the San Antonio-area:

http://www.pearlfarmersmarket.com/

A link to the Hollywood Farmer's Market, another favorite of mine:

http://www.hollywoodfarmersmarket.net/