I cook it the same way I do catfish, and so you can always look for catfish recipes and make the substitution. My favorite way is Cajun Blackened, and this is one dish that Kevin likes to cook himself, which is helpful.

Basically, we season the fillets with Cajun seasoning, heat a cast iron skillet with one stick of butter and then saute the fish on medium to medium high heat for about 4-6 minutes per side, depending on how thick it is. Thin pieces will cook in four minutes, but very thick ones may need six minutes per side - it is pretty easy to tell when it is done. Here is my recipe for Cajun seasoning:

Cajun Seasoning

1/3 cup dried oregano
1/3 cup dried thyme
1/3 cup dried basil
1/3 cup dried onion granules
1/4 cup dried garlic granules
2 tablespoons cayenne
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
(You can substitute 1 tbsp white pepper for half of the black pepper.)
4-6 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons paprika (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir - you might want to wear a mask when doing this or hold a handkerchief over your nose and mouth. Pour into an empty dried herb container that has a top with large holes for sprinkling. Store with a tight lid in a cool dry location.

You can easily halve this recipe, but I go through it pretty fast, as I use it a lot as a basic seasoning. I even put it on popcorn, but I do make that frequently. I put it on whole chickens that I roast, however, and sometimes of vegetables that I grill.

Lars

I love tilapia, maybe they are extra special because my grandson is catching them...and they aren't easy to catch.

I make Tilapia Piccata:

Ingredients
4 large (6-7 oz) tilapia fillets (or 8 small fillets)
Salt and pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsps olive oil
2 Tbsps butter, divided
3/4 cup white wine
1 Tbsp finely chopped shallots (optional)
2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp (or more) small capers
Parsley leaves or chopped parsley

Preparation
Dry the fillets with plain paper towels and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Spread the flour out on a plate.

Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over Medium heat until the butter sizzles. Lightly dredge the fillets in the flour, shake off the excess, and lay them in the pan.

Pan fry the fillets until lightly browned on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). Remove the fish from the pan and keep warm.

Raise the heat to Medium High and add the wine to the pan, stirring up any browned bits of flour. Add the shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes until shallots are softened.

Stir in the lemon juice and capers and cook 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Spoon the sauce over the fish and sprinkle with parsley.

I use it in the recipe below from Ina Garten

MUSTARD ROASTED FISH

INGREDIENTS
4 (8-ounce) fish fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces creme fraiche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons drained capers

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish. I use a shallow rectangular casserole dish, unlined, but sprayed with PAM.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, 2 mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

I make this recipe with tilapia instead of trout. It is similar to a recipe from The Commander's Palace. Some people batter and pan fry the fish. I saute it.

Trout with Pecan Butter and Creole Meuniere Sauce

Ingredients
PECAN BUTTER
1/2 cup Pecans; toasted
1/4 cup butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

SAUCE
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
2 tablespoons All purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Bottled clam juice
1/2 cup chilled butter; cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Fresh parsley; chopped

TROUT
1 cup All purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper; ground
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
6 6-ounce Trout fillets
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Pecans; toasted, chopped
Lemon wedges
Chopped fresh parsley

FOR PECAN BUTTER: Using on/off turns, finely chop pecans in food processor. Add next 3 ingredients: process until blended. (DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

FOR SAUCE: Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir constantly until golden, about 10 minutes. Gradually whisk in clam juice; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Whisk in butter a few pieces at a time. Whisk in 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and lemon juice. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, if desired.

FOR TROUT: Whisk flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne in large bowl. Working with 1 trout fillet at a time, dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add fillets to skillet and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Place 1 fillet on each of 6 plates. Spread about 1 tablespoon pecan butter over each fillet. Spoon some sauce over, sprinkle with toasted pecans, and garnish with lemon wedges and parsley. Serve, passing remaining sauce alongside.

I stopped shopping at fish counters that had that smell.

I am truly lazy with tilapia frozen filets. I have a dedicated microwave-safe dish that fits 2 filets hardly overlapping. The 2 frozen filets are then topped with pats of butter. Liberally (2 oz.+). Then sprinkled liberally with lemon pepper. Covered with a slotted microwave cover, or wax paper, I microwave on High, 5 min. for 2 frozen fillets. Time depends upon microwave wattage. When you get the timing right they are perfect, not greasy, and the dish goes into a plastic bag in the fridge for reuse. Besides the wonderful lemon pepper accent, the butter solids sink into the fish giving a great flavor and butter left in the dish looks like clarified butter.

Thanks! With these, hopefully, soon I will be a convert!

I've never found talapia to be fishy but since most of it comes in frozen it might be better to just buy it that way and eliminate any potential for mishandling in the store. I find it to have a very neutral flavor and almost anything that would work with chicken breast would work with tapalia.

I'll dust the filets very lightly with a seasoned flour and saute it in a pan. Put it in a warm oven. Sweat some shallots then add some white wine and chicken stock. Allow that to reduce, adjust seasoning, and mount it with a few pats of butter (or you can use corn starch, etc. to thicken the sauce). A little parsley to make it look pretty. If I happen to have a can of those diced tomatoes, pour in a little of their juice with the stock and wine. Toss in a few spoonfuls of the tomatoes at the end (they don't need to be cooked, just warmed through). Adds a little color and taste.

I'm with you on not liking it, but I have a psychological issue with a lot of the farmed fare in the stores.

I've never had an Ina Garten recipe that wasn't good, just be sure to salt to taste.

I've found that anything with shallots is excellent. Those little things are divine.

Right after I posted the Tilapia Picata recipe and bragged about my boy catching fish, I got this picture on my phone. He was fishing all weekend and got a Grand Slam (three-species in one day).

Did he use his finger as bait?

dcarch :-)

I don't use a recipe but I heat some salted butter (1/2 tab per piece is about right) in a pan (sized to the amount preparing) to sizzling, add the fish and brown each side. When cooked, squeeze a lemon or lime over the fish in the hot pan, then serve with accumulated juices.

I have a bazillion Penzys spices, so I also, before flipping, sprinkle with whatever is appealing at the moment.
In a perfect world, I would sprinkle with parsley too but I rarely buy it.

Did he use his finger as bait?
Cute DC. He said he used live shrimp.

Tilapia is not A fish, it is a species of fish - at least a hundred different fish are called tilapia.

In the US, they are an invasive species - tilapia are on the IUCN's 100 of the World's Worst Alien Invasive Species list

Here is a link that might be useful: Tilapia

We like to fry up some capers in butter, and top the raw fish with the capers and the butter cooked in, slat and pepper,then pop in a 400 oven for about 15 minutes. sometimes I just slather it in a little olive oil and Mrs Dash. I've always found tilapia to be bland and mild.

We love this recipe from Moosewood
þ c buttermilk
þ c pecans
þ c bread crumbs
3 cloves of garlic
2 T parsley
ý t dried thyme
ý t paprika
ý t salt
Pinch cayenne
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil baking pan.
Rinse the fish and place it in a shallow dish, pour over buttermilk. I like to let the fish soak at least ý hour.
Place garlic, parsley, pecans, thyme, paprika, salt and cayenne in food processor, pulse until finely ground. Add bread crumbs and pulse to combine, or chunks of bread to turn into crumbs and combine.
One at a time, remove the fillets from the buttermilk, let excess drip off, then dredge in pecan-crumb mixture to coat all sides. Place each fillet in baking pan.
Bake 30 -45 minutes depending on thickness of the fillets, until topping is lightly browned and the fish is tender and flakes easily.