Tilapia and Quinoa with feta & cucumber salad

This was the first (and only) post I wrote for a failed attempt at a food blog back in April....

Delicious (and healthy!) dinner tonight from this month's Everyday Food. The heading says "Protein will keep you full longer, and this recipe has two lean sources of it." We really like quinoa and, as it turns out, also enjoy tilapia. We bought fresh tilapia from Pike Place Market and were glad we did! The meal was quick and easy to cook - only a few ingredients and truly a 30 minute recipe (unlike some of the other ones we try that end up being much longer). We didn't have dill or lemon and Derek didn't find the cayenne pepper, so it could be a bit more flavorful next time, but we enjoyed the simple tastes nonetheless. This is definitely a repeatable weeknight dinner.


Martha Stuart, Everyday Food, April 2010, page 69.

Ingredients:

• 1 c quinoa
• coarse salt & ground pepper
• 2.5 tsp EVOO
• 1 lb boneless, skinless tilapia fillets, divided into 8 pieces
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1 c English cucumber (6 oz), diced small
• 1/2 c roughly chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 c fetal (1.5 oz), crumbled
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. In a small saucepan, bring quinoa, 2c water, and 1 tsp salt to a boil over high. Reduce to a medium simmer and cook until water evaporates, about 15 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a medium bowl and let cool 5 minutes.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1.5 tsp oil over medium-high. Pat fish dry and season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with paprika. Cook fillets until opaque throughout, about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. Stir cucumber, dill, feta, 1 tsp oil, and lemon juice into quinoa. Season with salt and pepper. Divide quinoa among four plates and top with fish.