I spent 6 years of my childhood living in North Platte, Nebraska during the 70’s when the local census guy officially determined there were 4 Asians living in the town - me, my brother, mom and dad. Really. Like tax dollars could have been spent on something more useful, like building a cultural center to attract more than just red necks to the town. So, what did the 4 Asian people in the town do for fun? Going cow tipping just seemed so useless to us, plus my parents didn’t let me drink beer until I was 8. (that was a joke, Ma) We went fishing almost every weekend in the summertime. We caught Yellow Perch, Crawfish, Striped Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, and Northern Pike (my parents have a dead, stuffed 5 ft Northern Pike hanging above their 60″ flatscreen TV to remind us of our humble days in the Midwest)

We ate fish stew, steamed fish, baked fish, fish curry, fish balls, fried fish, fish lollipop on a chopstick…anything you could imagine. Despite eating all my Mom’s variations of fish dishes, I still love fish. My two toddlers love fish. My husband….not so much. So it was a challenge to come up with a non-fishy fish dish non-fishy fish dish non-fishy fish dish non-fishy fish dish non-fishy fish dish hee hee! that my husband would like. I’m also cooking for a family who doesn’t eat fish. Their Mom just asked if I could make a non-fishy fish dish for her 3 girls to try. So I needed something mild, and to totally disguise the fish so that it looked like chicken. But just because my husband can be easily tricked, the 3 girls wouldn’t be. I needed something sweet to coat the fish too. The result was scrumptious. My husband actually liked it! I’ll let you know next week if the 3 girls like it too. (for the family, I’ll be substituting Blue Agave for the honey since they are on a no-sugar diet)

Pecan Crusted Tilapia with Honey Glaze

You can serve the Tilapia over pasta (see photo above), Basmati rice or Couscous. *Note - for Gluten free, serve over gluten free pasta.

4 whole Tilapia fillets, cut in half lengthwise - you should have 8 pieces about 6″ x 2.5″ each
3 T organic honey
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (or Gluten free breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup crushed pecans (I used a mini food processor)
salt & pepper
3 eggs, beaten in bowl
Honey Glaze: 3 T organic honey mixed with 2 T hot water
3 T olive oil, for frying

1) Wash Tilapia and pat dry. Using a brush, brush both sides of the fillet with honey. Generously salt & pepper both sides of the fillet.

2) Combine the Panko and crushed Pecans. Lay out your ingredients in this order: Tilapia - Egg mixture - Panko/Pecan Dip the fish in the egg, coat with panko/pecan on both sides, set aside. Repeat with all fillets.

3) Heat a large fry pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. When the oil is hot, turn the heat down to low. Add the fillets to the pan, make sure the fillets don’t touch each other. You may have to do this in separate batches. Fry on low for 2 minutes until the underside is golden brown. Turn. Fry another 2 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Pour the honey glaze over the fish. Note: if you don’t fry on low heat, the panko/pecan coating will burn before the fish is cooked through.