FRIDAY FISH: Tilapia Caesar Salad

Skip the chicken this week and sauté some inexpensive tilapia fillets for your whole meal Caesar salad. If you’ve dressing made, the fish cooks in just about the time it takes to chop your greens and grate a little Parmigiano-Reggiano and you’re eating in—say 10 minutes or so. For a Gluten-Free version, use GF flour in place of all-purpose flour and roasted chickpeas for the croutons. Fish! It's the original fast food.

2 servings (easily doubles)

Ingredients

4 cups chopped or shredded romaine lettuce
Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, crushed red pepper
2 small tomatoes, cut into medium dice
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
¼ red bell pepper, thinly sliced (can sub fennel)
2 tablespoons sliced peperoncini
2 anchovy fillets, diced (optional)
1/2 cup (1 ¾ oz) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 (4 oz) Tilapia fillets (or other mild, white fish fillets)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon EACH: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons Caesar dressing, divided. (See COOK’S NOTES for my recipe or use yours.)
1 cup homemade croutons. See blog for directions or use your own.
Lemon wedges for garnish, optional

Instructions

TOSS THE SALAD/REFRIGERATE: In a large bowl, toss together the romaine with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, a pinch of crushed red pepper, the tomatoes, onion, pepper, peperoncini, and chopped anchovies, if using. (Don't dress the salad or add the Parm yet.) Refrigerate.
COOK THE TILAPIA: Rinse the tilapia fillets under water and dry carefully with paper towels. Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper; set aside. To a medium shallow bowl, add the flour, ⅛ teaspoon each salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika and stir together. Set aside. Pour the olive oil into a large, nonstick skillet, and heat over medium-high heat. Gently press one fillet at a time (both sides) into the reserved flour mixture and shake off excess. Cook fillets in the hot oil on one side for 4 minutes; turn and cook other side about 3 minutes or until fish is just firm, opaque, and flakes easily. A stovetop grill pan will also work well. (See blog for outdoor grill information.)
ARRANGE THE SALAD: Pull the salad out of the fridge and toss with 3 tablespoons of the dressing (use 4 if you like a heavily dressed salad) and 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Divide the salad between large, chilled salad bowls and add a Tilapia fillet to each at center. Drizzle fish fillets with a little more of the Caesar dressing. Grind some black pepper lightly over the salads and sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add 1/2 cup croutons to each bowl and serve immediately with lemon wedges, if using. (Store extra salad dressing in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.)

Notes

Cook’s Notes. CAESAR DRESSING: I use FOOD & WINE’S dressing from their 2017 recipe for Caesar Salad with Anchovy Fritters with a couple of small changes. I can’t locate an online, printable version and my torn-out page doesn’t include the chef/writer. I’m sorry. Here's my method:
In a blender or food processor, puree/pulse until smooth: 2 anchovy fillets, one egg yolk (I poach this first for one minute for safety), 2 small sliced shallots, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard, 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (can sub red wine vinegar), 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. With machine on, drizzle in 1 cup extra virgin olive oil just until incorporated. Taste and adjust seasonings. Use a whisk, a big bowl, and your strong arm if you’ve no blender or food processor, first finely chopping the anchovies, shallots, and garlic. I like my small food processor insert for this sort of chore as my regular bowl is much too large. Some of you have separate small food processors.