pesto encrusted tilapia

i took nelson to restaurant eve for his graduation last friday night.

the chef's tasting room no less.

an eclectic dining spot where we were seated next to the white house chef and ate food prepared by james beard award-winning chef armstrong.

in a word. amazing.

seven courses with too many amuse-bouche courses in between to count. 

the highlights: olive oil poached halibut, pan fried sweetbreads and the best lamb i've ever had (see above). 

and if you remember, i don't even like lamb.

there were also three dessert courses -- beginning with a delicate maple waffle accompanied by a nutty wedge of cheese, followed by a creamy lemon panna cotta wrapped in a delicate strawberry ribbon and ending with an assortment of mini cookies, including hot pink macarons almost too cute to eat.

thank goodness for spanx. 

after over three hours of the best meal of our lives, nelson and i rolled ourselves home and promptly fell asleep for about 10 hours.

the rest of the weekend, i spent contemplating how much thought went into each of our 18 courses of food. 

each course, was only 5-10 bites but was so rich in complexity and flavor.

how did this type of recipe creation begin?

most nights, i think of what we've got in the fridge and how i can make those ingredients into dinner in under 15 minutes.

since we had nelson's graduation ceremony on saturday, i had a good two hours to waste think up a recipe while thousands of names were butchered by the master of ceremonies.

on sunday night i put together a plate of food that really made me want to put more thought into cooking.

it might even take 30 minutes or more some nights.

while i'll never make something as delicious as restaurant eve, i can certainly push myself a little right?

or maybe some nights i'll throw in the towel and we'll pick up the bell.

either way, more thought.

Recipe: Pesto Encrusted Tilapia

Ingredients:

about 12 oz frozen tilapia, defrosted overnight

1 cup basil leaves

1 lemon

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp warm water

1/4 cup grated parmigiana cheese

2-3 tbsp chopped roasted cashews

2-3 tbsp ff greek yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

1/2-1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tbsp flax seeds

1/2 cup basmati rice

1 cup vegetable broth

1 bunch bok choy, chopped

1 cup frozen artichokes, defrosted

1 tbsp butter

Method:

-blend basil, garlic, cashews until chunky, add 1/3 of the lemon's zest and juice, olive oil, greek yogurt, cheese and warm water. set aside

-mix panko and flax seeds in a bowl
-cut tilapia into one inch-sized pieces, dip in pesto mixture, then panko mixture

-saute tilapia in cooking spray on medium for 4-5 minutes per side, careful to keep crust in tact

-cook basmati and vegetable broth according to directions, stir in chopped bok choy at the end, let warm for an additional minute

-toss artichoke hearts with olive oil, salt and pepper. roast for 15 minutes at 350.

-melt butter and 1/2 of lemon juice on low

-add artichoke hearts and rice bok choy mixture to plate, top with tilapia and glaze with lemon butter