Healthy Meal with Kid Appeal Winner: Picky Palate

by The Meal Makeover Moms on March 12th, 2009

tilapia on plate with asparagus

Getting kids hooked on eating more seafood can be a tall order if their repertoire begins and ends with frozen fish sticks.  The key to seafood success is to find recipes so easy, so delicious, and so irresistible that kids simply can’t say no.  Recently, we found such a recipe on Picky Palate, a blog dedicated to making life easier in the kitchen … even when picky eaters are at the table.  Blog host Jenny took tilapia, a mild, kid-friendly fish and created a sweet and ever-so-spicy dish that was, in a word, scrumptious.

Both of our families loved Jenny’s Sweet Chili Glazed & Walnut Crusted Tilapia.  The flavor combinations were a bit surprising, but they worked really well together.  And we all went nuts over the crunchy breading of Panko bread crumbs and walnuts.  The roasted asparagus was super easy and was a nice change of pace from our usual steamed asparagus drizzled with evoo.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we are pleased to announce that Picky Palate has received our Healthy Meal with Kid Appeal Award for Sweet Chili Glazed & Walnut Crusted Tilapia with Roasted Asparagus.   Read on for the recipe, our kids’ reactions, and some additional cooking notes.

grilled asparagus

Sweet Chili Glazed & Walnut Crusted Tilapia with Roasted Asparagus
Makes 4 Servings

  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon warm water
  • 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup ground walnuts (I ground them in food processor)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
  • 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place asparagus onto an edge-rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Roast in oven for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender, turning halfway through. Remove and keep warm.

2. Place the honey, chili powder and warm water in a small bowl; mix to combine. Place crumbs, walnuts, salt, chili powder and pepper into a shallow dish; mix to combine. Season both sides of tilapia fillets with pinches of salt and pepper. With a pastry brush, brush honey glaze on both sides of tilapia then press into crumb mix. Continue until all fillets are coated.

3. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, place coated tilapia fillets into skillet; cook 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and the fish flakes easy with a fork. Remove and serve warm.

tilapia-in-skillet-resized

The feedback from the kids, as we said earlier, was overwhelmingly positive.  Simon, Liz’s 10-year old, asked for thirds, and 13-year old Josh – whose recent carb cravings have left Liz on the constant lookout for teen-pleasing protein foods – gobbled it up.  The prep was easy — an award criteria must.

Here are a few additional cooking notes from The Meal Makeover Moms’ kitchen:

  • If you like your asparagus crisp tender, 12 to 15 minutes at 350°F is fine.  For more tender stalks, cook an additional 5 minutes or crank the heat to 400°F.
  • Like Jenny, we ground/chopped our walnuts in a mini food processor.  For maximum kid appeal, we suggest you chop them up nice and fine, but just be careful not to turn them into paste.
  • At first, we thought the 3 tablespoons of honey was too much, but when brushed on generously, it was just the right amount.
  • The tilapia we bought was farm raised in Ecuador, a country that does a great job sustaining healthy fisheries.

If you try this recipe with your family, please post your feedback to the blog!

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1 Comment | Filed Under Awards, Dinner, Seafood, Vegetables 

One Response to “Healthy Meal with Kid Appeal Winner: Picky Palate”

  1. maris on March 17th, 2009

    I love seafood! Especially tilapia, because it goes with just about anything. I’ve never cooked it but this recipe looks like a good one to try.

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