5:30 Challenge
5 ingredients/30 minutes
Tonight’s solution
Caribbean Tilapia
To make the meal
Steamed zucchini
Brookhaven resident Emily Widman Texter and her husband, Carl, have been lucky enough to travel to several Caribbean islands. They loved the food they’ve had on their trips. At home, Texter found Zatarain’s Caribbean rice mix, and the inspiration for this dish was born.
She decided to make a sauce that brought together sweet and spicy flavors, so she combined crushed pineapple with a can of diced tomatoes and green chiles and added even more spice with sweet chili sauce.
The resulting sauce carries quite a kick, but would be welcome with any kind of mild fish or grilled chicken or pork. In order to keep you from having half cans left over, the sauce recipe uses the entire cans of pineapple and diced tomatoes, but makes double what you’ll need for this dish. I’m betting you’ll come up with lots of ways to use the leftover sauce. Texter also ups the spice level by sprinkling her fillets with Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning.
Caribbean Tilapia
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
1 (8-ounce) package Caribbean rice
1 pound tilapia fillets or other mild fish
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
Cook rice according to package directions.
When rice is almost ready, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil until hot, about 1 minute. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper and saute 3 minutes, then turn and cook until done, about 2 more minutes.
While fish is cooking, in a small saucepan, heat diced tomatoes, pineapple and chili sauce until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over tilapia and serve. Reserve remaining sauce for another use.
Per serving: 362 calories (percent of calories from fat, 14), 32 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 42 milligrams cholesterol, 221 milligrams sodium.
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