Prosciutto and Rosemary-Wrapped Tilapia with Vegetable Confit

Prosciutto and Rosemary-Wrapped Tilapia

4 skinless tilapia fillets

Freshly ground pepper

4 large sprigs rosemary

8 thin prosciutto slices

Vegetable Confit

¼ cup olive oil

1 small finely diced yellow onion

3 heaping tbsp minced garlic

1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves picked off the stem and chopped

2 cups diced zucchini

2 cups quartered mushrooms

½ cup chopped artichoke hearts

1 red pepper chopped

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped basil

1/3 cup chopped parsley

2/3 cup white wine

¼ cup chopped picked Jalapeño peppers

4 finely chopped anchovies

3 tbsp chopped capers

16 leaves Belgian endive

4 tbsp crumbled jalapeno goat cheese

Chick pea salad to accompany

(serves 4)

It was time to try out the Ocean Wise Cookbook that I recently received as a present and do a blog.  I settled on this recipe as I am always looking for ways to get my dining companion to incorporate fish into his diet.  For the moment the best strategy is to choose mild fish and disguise it whenever possible.  Tilapia is known for its delicate, moist texture and slightly sweet flavour that makes it quite versatile as it easily absorbs the flavour of spices and herbs. Choosing it was a tactful decision and wrapping it in something that used to walk seemed like a good bet.  The book actually suggested making this with halibut (but I’d already bought tilapia) and serving it with truffled new potatoes.  I was asked to keep the meal light on starch and include more vegetables in the confit, hence the ingredient list above which did not originally include mushrooms, peppers or artichokes nor was it served on endive with crumbled cheese.  I also increased the amount of herbs, garlic, capers, anchovies and wine to make sure that it had loads of flavour.

I preheated the oven to 350, patted dry the fish, seasoned both sides of each fillet with plenty of black pepper, placed a rosemary sprig lengthwise down the middle of each and wrapped in 2 pieces of prosciutto.  I then turned my attention to the confit.

I heated the oil in a very large frying pan over low/medium heat, added the onion, garlic and oregano and let these sweat for 5 minutes.  I then added the zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper and artichokes, turned up the heat to medium and cooked for 5 more minutes, mixing often.

The fish then went into the oven and all other ingredients except the endive and cheese were added to the frying pan.  In 8 minutes I turned the fish and let it cook for 3 more minutes to get the prosciutto crispy.  This might be too much time for some of you but I like everything slightly overdone.

To serve, I placed 4 endive leaves on each plate, spooned a couple of tablespoons of confit into each and crumbled the cheese on top.  We each had one piece of fish and bit of chickpea salad from the local deli on the side. (I know this is starchy but thought it would be an easy compliment to the meal and I wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t get eaten.)

This meal was full bursting with flavour, satisfying but not overly heavy. The land lover devoured every last morsel.  I suspect he actually licked the plate when I wasn’t looking.  I would highly recommend this Mediterranean-inspired meal for those easing their way into the world of seafood. Oh and although I deviated from the original halibut recipe in Ocean Wise, I did select another sustainable species.  The gift-bearer would be proud. 🙂

Source: Ocean Wise Cookbook