It’s not really fair to call it a mystery fish, but we’d never eaten tilapia before this. I had to look it up.
Here’s something interesting from Wikipedia (bolding is mine):
Tilapia have very low levels of mercury as they are fast-growing and short-lived with a primarily vegetarian diet, and thus do not accumulate mercury found in prey. Tilapia is a low saturated fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate and low sodium protein source. It is a source of phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B12 and potassium.
However, farm raised tilapia (the least expensive and most popular) has a high fat content (though low in saturated fats). According to research published in July 2008, farm raised tilapia may be worse for the heart than eating bacon or a hamburger. The research suggests the nutritional value of farm raised tilapia may be compromised by the amount of corn included in the feed. The corn contains short chain omega-6s that contribute to the buildup of these materials in the fish. “Ratios of long-chain omega-6 to long-chain omega-3, AA to EPA respectively, in tilapia averaged about 11:1, compared to much less than 1:1 (indicating more EPA than AA) in both salmon and trout.” Wide spread publicity encouraging people to eat more fish has seen tilapia being purchased by those with lower incomes who are trying to eat a well balanced diet. The lower amounts of omega-3 and the higher ratios of omega-6 compounds in US farmed tilapia raise questions of the health benefits of consuming this fish.
Interesting about the corn eh?
We’re not big fish eaters here at Casa Fishbowl. I am on the fence about fish. I know it’s healthy – chock full of omegas etc. – but things like mercury, overfishing/factory trawls, wild vs. farmed fish, clouds everything for me quite a bit and I just avoid it. Also, for some reason, white fish has always seemed kind of boring to me. Go figure.
Anyway, in an effort to reduce the amount of meat we’re eating I want to start eating more fish. And this is the recipe I started with: Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce, Thyme Mashed Potatoes, and Sugar Snap Peas. I liked the fact that this recipe gave me a main and two sides. No deep planning required!
Here it is:
If you have non-fish eaters at home I think this may be The Gateway Fish.
- Everyone – ALL FOUR – loved the fish. The butter sauce is outstanding. There may be an alarming amount of butter involved, but do not skip it. The fish part of this recipe is incredibly quick to prepare and it’s very very mild and non-fishy.
- I knew going into this one that the girls wouldn’t eat the mashed potatoes but I made them anyway (but using milk instead of cream). They were delicious. Tell me, what kind of kid doesn’t eat mashed potatoes?? Crazy. We had leftover mashed potatoes and I used them to make potato pancakes for my lunch the next day. DIVINE.
- The sugar snap peas were the perfect side vegetable.
Yay! I’m so glad this one worked out. It’s my new favourite fish dish.
So what’s your tilapia recipe? A bunch of you alluded to this wonderful fish in my last “will they eat it” post and I need to know!