Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia Fish

324.  My honey picked up tilapia fish filets the other day and it inspired me to be creative.  I had shrimp in the freezer and decided to make a stuffing.

Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia 

6  Tilapia fish filets
10 cooked medium shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 cup day old crusty bread, crumbled
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dill
Old Bay Spice
Garlic Salt

Wash tilapia filets and blot with paper towels.  Set aside
Mix in a small bowl shrimp, bread, pepper, parsley, spinach,  lemon juice, egg, salt, pepper, dill, pinch of Old Bay Spice and garlic salt.   Blend together so the filling begins to collect.  Take the filling and form into 6 oval shaped balls in your hand.  Place the oval filling on the short end of a filet and then roll the filet up around the filling.  Push a toothpick through the fish to hold together.  Repeat with the remaining filets and filling.

Heat up a pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Place each filet, large side down in pan and do not move.  Allow the fish to sizzle and slightly brown.  Turn each filet over using two spoon spatulas being careful not to tear the fish.  Filling may fall out but you can gently push it back into the filling.
Once the fish is no longer transparent, remove from the heat to a serving plate or directly on to individual plates.

Serve with rice.  Season the rice with butter, 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and dill.

Cream Sauce

4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup milk or more as needed
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper
dill
garlic salt

In a small saucepan melt butter.  Add the flour and continue to cook over medium heat till flour has a nutty smell and a light brown color.  Using a whisk begin to incorporate the milk in the butter /flour mixture stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  Add lemon juice & seasons and continue to stir and cook till the sauce has thickened.  Pour over the stuffed tilapia and place remaining sauce in a gravy boat.


This meal is beautiful, so light and tasty and would impress your company.  It is very flavorful and each bite is delightful!

"In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of perpetual delight." 

- Jean-Anthelme Brilliant-Savarin