Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

I feel like just yesterday I was posting about how cold and gray and gloomy the weather was... And today was sunny, 70, and absolutely amazingly wonderfully gorgeous...  Such is spring in the Midwest!

And as much as I love soups and stews and casseroles and chilies and pastas...  This kind of weather inspires a completely different kind of cooking!  (In fact, if I hadn't already planned out meals and bought groceries for the next week, we'd be grilling away...)

Although not cooked on a grill, this recipe for fish makes a great 'bridge' meal for that time of year between winter comfort foods and full-on grilling season!

Recipe: (from Rachel Ray found via Pinterest)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
4 tilapia filets (about 1 pound)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a shallow bowl, combine the parmesan, paprika, and parsley.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

Drizzle the fish in olive oil and dredge through the cheese mixture, pressing to adhere.

Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10-12 minutes.

Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.

Verdict:
Definitely very good!  It even won over Alex, who seems to be a bit reluctant when it comes to tilapia... This time I got him to admit he liked it before telling him what kind of fish it was.  Winner!  Simple to prepare, no complex-hard-to-find ingredients, with the foil on the baking sheet also easy to cleanup, and a perfect combination of seasoning that was lick-your-fingers-and-your-plate good.

I did end up cooking mine for about 15 minutes, simply because with all the seasoning it was hard to tell if the fish was opaque...  Better safe than sorry!