Pan seared tilapia with shallots and bacon

For a long time I thought tilapia was some kind of garbage fish. People talked about it with derision most often reserved for the Fillet-O-Fish or other generic whitefish battered and deep fried. But tilapia might be one of the better values currently in your local market's sea food section. It's cheap, low on the food chain, and farm raised, which makes it affordable, low in mercury and sustainable. And as long as you buy from farms with good regulation and safety practices, you can be assured of getting good, firm fillets that will stand up to a nice pan sear. Bonus? It provides some of the same omega 3 fatty acids as its oilier, mercury filled cousins.

This past weekend I picked up a couple tilapia fillets and brought them home. With some shallots and bacon I was able to throw together a simple, easy fish course (with bacon) in about 30 minutes, including prep. And it was delicious.

Ingredients

• 8 strips of bacon
• 4 shallots
• 4 tilapia fillets
• 1/2 cup water or fish stock
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar (or more, to taste)
• 2 tsp honey (or more, to taste)
• kosher salt

Begin by heating a pan over medium heat. While the pan heats, coarsely chop the bacon and slice the shallots into discs about a quarter-inch thick. When the pan is heated, add the bacon, stir briefly and then let it sit for six minutes (or as directed on your bacon's packaging). Flip the pieces, and gently stir in the shallots. Let the mix cook an additional four minutes. Turn up the heat just a bit, and remove the bacon and shallots with a slotted spoon.

By the time you've got the bacon and shallots out of the pan, it should be hot enough for the fillets. Place them gently in the pan and sear on one side about two minutes. Flip, and sear on the other side an additional two minutes. Don't move them or mess with them or anything. You want constant, prolonged contact with the pan to get good caramelization.

Remove the fillets to plates, then add the stock to the pan to deglaze it. Add the honey and vinegar to bring some sweetness and acid to the sauce and reduce the hit to low for several minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Drizzle the sauce on the fillets, then top with a smattering of the bacon and shallots. Enjoy!

What to pair it with?
I'm a big fan of contrasting food with wine--With hot, salty food, I like a cold, sweet wine. With this dish, the fat from the bacon provides a wonderful, unctuous texture that's just begging to be cut by a crisp white wine, like a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Food column as it appeared in the March issue of Satellite Magazine

While most of the nation must wait until August or September for in-season tomatoes, we get to enjoy fresh, local tomatoes for much of the year, including spring. Tart, sweet and complex in flavor, local tomatoes are worlds better than the tomatoes you'll often find at the supermarket. Growers in other states and countries breed supermarket tomatoes for transport and sacrifice flavor and texture for shipability. And even if the local tomatoes aren't quite ready, you can still work wonders with the green ones.

Fried Green Tomatoes

• 2 large green tomatoes sliced 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick
• 1/4 cup flour (for dredging)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika (for depth of flavor)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• Bacon (optional)
• 3 - 4 tablespoons cooking oil (if you forgo the bacon)

You'll want to get all the materials together on your countertop--flour, egg, corn meal--and then lightly salt each of the tomato slices. Once you begin frying, things move pretty quickly.

First, mix 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup corn meal, paprika and garlic powder in a bowl. Place the other 1/4 flour on a plate or similar surface. This will be used to dredge the tomato slices before coating them with the egg. Make sure the egg is in a bowl big enough to handle your tomato slices.

Traditionally, green tomatoes are fried in bacon fat. If you go that route, you can serve the tomatoes with a bacon garnish and present a simple, modern twist on the bacon and tomato sandwich (the lettuce was always just for show). However, you can use vegetable, peanut or canola oil and they'll still taste great. Just make sure you get an oil with a relatively high smoke point and neutral flavor.

If you go the bacon route, now's the time to fry up the bacon. Once it's done, set it aside and bring the heat up to medium-high. There should be enough fat or oil to fill the bottom of a heavy, medium-sized skillet. When the pan has come to temperature, begin by dredging the tomato slices through the flour. Just drag them through, enough to coat both sides. Dip the slices in the egg (again, enough to coat both sides) and drop them in the corn meal mix. Make sure they get a generous coating on all sides, then gently lay them in the hot oil. Fry them for about a minute on each side. DO NOT overcook the tomatoes. If you do, you'll end up with a mushy, tasteless mess.

When they're done cooking, remove them from the pan and lay on paper towels or a cooling rack to drain. To serve, place a single slice on a plate and garnish with crumbled bacon. Add a dollop of mayonnaise on the side. The singular tomato slice makes a great appetizer, especially in preparation for a mail like fried catfish. However, if you want to make a meal out of it, you can cook up some grits (please, avoid the instant ones -- quick cooking is fine), place them on a plate, and set the tomato slice on top. Garnish with crumbled bacon and sliced chives.