The one thing I hate about this time of year is that the fishing sucks. Water levels in rivers and streams are down and the areas that are open for fishing are hard to fish in these conditions. We have been experiencing an early spring here in Idaho so the fishing is improving, but it is still not great. I was really feeling like fish for dinner the other day, but when I went to the freezer all that was left was a small grouse. Pickings are slim.

I sat down and turned on the food network to get some ideas. I watched an episode of Iron Chef America and the secret ingredient was fish. There were several different types of fish and most of them I had never heard of. It turns out that several of the fish were members of the Tilapia family. I had at least heard of Tilapia, however I did not know there were several different types of Tilapia. I have seen Tilapia in the seafood section at the Walmart so I headed off to get some of this new fish to try.

Tilapia is a mild flavored fresh water fish that is farm raised and readily available. It’s an inexpensive fish as well. Unlike some farm raised fish I have tried, the Tilapia is not mushy. It is firm and holds together well.

According to Wikipedia, Tilapia have very low levels of mercury as they are a fast-growing and short-lived fish that mostly eats a vegetarian diet and therefore do not accumulate mercury found in prey.

Tilapia is a low total fat, low saturated fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate and low sodium protein source. It is also an excellent source of Phosphorus, Niacin, Selenium, Vitamin B12 and Potassium.

I got my Tilapia fillets home and took some out to thaw. When I am trying a fish I have never eaten before I go for my standby cooking method: I lightly flour it and fry the fish in some hot oil. I had some left over chicken breast in the fridge so I decided to add a variation of my Sour Chicken Casserole as well. I left out the cheese when I made my pasta this time, because I have been watching the food network, and now know that cheese and fish are a big no no. Maybe one of these days someone will explain why that is to me, but for now I will just go with it.

Fried Tilapia

Ingredients:

• 4 Tilapia fillets
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
• 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder

In a large non stick frying pan on medium heat add the oil and garlic powder. Bring this up to temperature before adding the fish. If the oil is not hot when the fish is added the fish will soak up some of the oil and may stick to the pan.

Pour the flour into a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Thoroughly coat the Tilapia fillets with the flour and carefully lay them into the hot oil. Tilapia, like most fish, cooks fast so keep an eye on it.Let it cook on the first side for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the fillet, then turn over and cook for 2 to 5 minutes on the other side.

Sprinkle on a little lemon juice or add your favorite tar-tar sauce and the Tilapia is ready to eat. Combine this with the pasta and you have a hearty meal that is sure to please.