Light and Easy Weeknight: Pan Seared Tilapia with Parmesan Broccoli Pasta

Pin It This dish literally took 30 minutes to make, partial clean up included.  After feasting on real Southern fried chicken yesterday, this was a good dish to recover from the weekend.  It was light, yet flavorful.  The nuttiness of the parmesan perfectly complements that similar note on the broccoli.  And tilapia is just so good even with a simple preparation.  It also doesn't cost much.  The splurge in this dish would be good parmesan cheese because it makes the dish. Although more expensive, with good, flavorful parmesan you actually won't need as much.  I'm not saying that you should use the $25 per pound Parmigiano Reggiano, but grating a slice from a less expensive wheel should be better than the ones that come from a green can!  These are the times when I miss living by Arthur Avenue where I can get good olive oil and cheese from Teitel Bros. Italian grocery for a very reasonable price.

Pasta

1/2 pound of pasta (I used rotelle.)
1/4 c olive oil
about 5 cloves of garlic  peeled and slightly pounded
1 lb broccoli florets, chopped
2 tsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
red pepper flakes (optional)

Drop the pasta in the water before making the sauce.  You will be done making the sauce before pasta is even al dente.

In a sautee pan, heat olive oil over medium fire.  Add garlic and pepper flakes and let the flavor infuse the oil.  Watch as you do not want this to burn.  Turn the garlic cloves over to let the other side brown.  Fish out the garlic as soon as the other side starts to brown.  Add the broccoli.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Cook until slightly tender but with a bit of crunch left.  Add the butter.  When pasta is done cooking, use a strainer to take the pasta out of the water and put directly into the sauce.  Use some of the pasta water to add more liquid into your sauce.  Re-season with pepper (I suggest to taste after you've added the cheese if you need more salt).  Add grated parmigiano reggiano and toss.  When serving, you can drizzle a little bit more olive oil and grate some more cheese onto the pasta.

Tilapia

2 T olive oil
2 tilapia fillets
salt and pepper

I was making the tilapia while making the pasta so that they all finish cooking at the same time.

Heat the oil over medium fire.  Season both sides of the tilapia with salt and pepper.  Sear the tilapia about 4 minutes each side.