Tilapia Simmered in Tomato Lemon Sauce

The feeling of being very pleased will occur when cooking dishes in the family kitchen. It is also spiritual food for women like me to cook, and I also experience this feeling when I prepare simple dishes, which provide sufficient nutrients that are needed daily. Thereby, I often encourage people to prepare dinner for the family instead of always buying take-out food or going to a restaurant on the way home from work. This autumn time when the weather starts to be chilly is also the time to clean up my small garden, which provides plenty of herbs and a significant amount of tomatoes. Therefore, I will now make a fish dish that is very familiar in any Italian restaurant. Even though this dish usually uses a mullet, I use tilapia instead because I do not have a mullet on hand. This dish is so easy to prepare and has a unique quality. Of course, if there are no fresh tomatoes available, canned tomatoes are acceptable. Let’s do some cooking now!


Ingredients:
Two 8 oz. tilapia fillets or mullets 
Sauce ingredients:
1/2 lb. fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup chopped white onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp chili flakes
Fresh chopped parsley (1/4 cup)
1 small lemon, thinly sliced


Directions:
Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove and let cool before peeling off the skins and roughly chopping.
In a medium heavy skillet, heat oil and stirfry onions, garlic, and chili flakes for a few minutes or until fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes and parsley and bring to simmer. Cook tomatoes for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
Add fish to tomato sauce in one layer and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add wine and lemon slices and bring sauce back to boil for 2 more minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Remove fish from the sauce and place onto a serving plate.
Cook sauce further to reduce it slightly and spoon sauce over fish and serve. I like to add some fresh basil on top.