Did I ever tell you how Luke and I met? We were both servers at an Italian restaurant, working our way through college. The first time I saw him I thought he was adorable and knew that I was totally not his type. The first time he saw me he thought I would exactly his type. Fast forward a few months later and we were the mascot couple of the restaurant. Fast forward years later and we have a beautiful daughter, a home, and a wonderful marriage.
Besides our wonderful relationship we got the inspiration for one of our very favorite quick, easy, and healthy meals. We often ate a version of this dish loaded with pasta, cream, butter and even some flour in the restaurant. Sometimes we would torture the poor cooks asking for veggies instead of pasta and to have the sauce on the side. Then one day we decided to try and make something similar at home, something that would give us some of the wonderful flavor that we loved without all the extra fat and unneeded calories. Surprisingly our recipe has not changed much since that first night we made it, but I fall in love with it more and more each time we make it.
I would consider this a quick and easy recipe because it only take about 25 minutes to complete, including prep time. The heat level in the Hotfish comes purely from the jalapenos and can be adjusted for your personal preferences. This dish is also a great pantry meal, feel free to substitute frozen cooked spinach for the fresh spinach, and drained canned diced tomatoes for diced roma’s. We love our Hotfish served up with brown rice and a side of steamed veggies although it would be great with whole wheat pasta too.
Ingredients
3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 diced onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
4-6 Tilapia fillets
3-4 cups uncooked spinach leaves
1-2 tablespoons diced pickled Jalapenos (fresh would also work)
1 cup diced tom (roughly 2 medium roma tomatoes)
salt and pepper to taste.
Heat oil and butter over medium high heat in large saute pan.
Add onion, garlic, and spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add lemon juice to pan. Once spinach leaves are almost wilted add jalapenos and tomatoes to pan and mix, then nestle tilapia fillets into mixture in pan to cook.
Cook fillets for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until fillets reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
To serve place cooked tilapia fillets on plate and top with garlic, spinach and tomato mixture.
As always feel free to shre your thoughts with me! Happy Eating!
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