Fish of St. Peter a.k.a. tilapia

24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" ²⁵ He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?" ²⁶ And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.
27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."
Matthew 17:24-27

They say that this fish that proved once and again the miraculous powers of Jesus Christ and helped him to make his point re: taxes is actually tilapia.


Met a recent professional culinary art institute graduate who works in upscale Italian restaurant. He is not allowed to cook any sophisticated dishes yet, learning the ropes first. He was present as a guest but inevitably our conversation shifted to food.
It was buffet-style food, and really good quality. I must figure out the trade secret of their carrot-ginger fritters with orange cream sauce. So, they served Teriyaki tilapia and it was good. While enjoying our meal, me and a young cook discussed the ways to cook tilapia. This fresh water fish leaves at the bottoms of  the ponds, lakes or shallow streams and rivers. It's white dense meat has some distinct and unpleasant taste unless you make it disappear by skilful cooking.

Put your fillets in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and mix to make sure the salt has reached everywhere. Or rub it with salt. It really needs salt and it takes time to absorb it. If you have the time, salt it and leave it alone for an hour or longer. This is a generic suggestion for almost all occasions. Here are three recipes.



Frying fillets of tilapia is a simple but efficient way to deal with the problem of it's natural taste. Beat few eggs (some like to add milk), prepare a shallow deep dish with generous amount of flour, dip fillet in the eggs, bread it in the flour and fry in oil (it takes a lot of oil). Goes well with creme fresh garlic sauce or tsaziki.
Various versions of breading are applicable, including  breading it in flour, than dipping in eggs, then breading in Japanese panco or using shredded coconut instead of flour.

Baking is tricky. If you want to avoid marinating it in Teryiaki or other sauce which will take away the natural taste, I suggest cutting the fillers in smaller pieces, salting, adding spices to your liking, leaving it alone for an hour of more, adding cut tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions and then spreading the mix on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 400F depending on the thickness of the layer on the tray.



My favourite is the soup. You need onions, potatoes, bay leaf, white pepper, salt, heavy cream, pita chips, garlic, herbs (one of: leeks, cilantro, scallions, etc.).

So assemble your tilapia fillets, cut potatoes, onions (sauteing the onions first is fine too) in a pot, add cold water, salt, add spices the way you can remove them at the end, since people are typically no excited about bay leaf in their plate least their mouth. It will take about 18 minutes after the water starts boiling (then reduce the heat). While it's cooking: cut pita, bake to make it dry and touch with garlic clove your pita chips. Alternatively, buy Stacy's Simply Naked pita chips (Amazon, Costco, Whole Foods, some supermarkets) with no additives and touch it with garlic. Chop the herb of the day. Whip the cream (no sugar, of course). Before serving, take the pot off the fire and add whipped cream. Serve in soup bowl. Garnish with herbs. Serve with chips on the side. Many choose to gradually add chips to their soup.

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