I’m going to try some new dishes and wanted to get more into Mediterranean cooking/dishes. So here’s to the start of some recipes! This one came out REALLY good. And my gosh, doesn’t it look professional? I don’t think I made a dish look so good before (parchment paper and all)

The yummy mixture before I laid the tilapia filets on top for baking. I wanted to slap myself silly – I bought capers just for this dish and totally forgot to add it. I LOVE capers. I guess it will have to wait for the next time.

I bought the frozen pack of tilapia from Sam’s club, this recipe uses 4 filets and the pack comes with 8. PERFECT.

Right after baking in the oven

Baked Tilapia with Lemon

Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small lemon, thinly sliced into rings
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 ounce block feta cheese
• 1 1/2 pounds tilapia
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (or standard paprika)
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• Finely chopped fresh parsley or basil, for garnish
• Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Chop the tomatoes, shallot, garlic, and lemon as noted above.
3. Place the chopped vegetables and lemon slices in the bottom of a 9 x 13″ baking dish and mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Crumble the feta cheese into rough chunks and add it to the pan, tossing gently to combine.
4. Pat the tilapia dry. Rub it with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon kosher salt, split between the filets. Place it on top of the vegetables and feta in the pan. Sprinkle both fillets with the Italian seasoning and a few grinds fresh ground black pepper, then add the red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. Sprinkle the capers over the top.
5. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish), until the fish is flaky and the internal temperature is 140 degrees Fahrenheit when measured with a food thermometer. Garnish with chopped parsley and remove the lemon slices when serving (or eat them if you like!).

Recipe Credit: https://www.acouplecooks.com/baked-tilapia/

A quick salad I threw together with the fish on top. I know, no can see the fish. It’s there. It’s sooo good! Highly recommend trying this recipe!