# Need side dish ideas



## marduke (Jun 13, 2008)

Hello all. Just signed up here. Could use some help.

My son requested a baked Tilapia dish for dinner tonight. Some kind of parmesain coating. I've never baked fish before. This should be interesting. Can anyone suggest some side dishes that would go with this? Mashed potatoes and veggies sounds kind of boring. I've read somewhere that stuffing goes with fish. ???


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## ghettoracingkid (Feb 19, 2007)

A dish I did at my extern was with talipia...

bake the talipia and then top with this awesome topping./sauce

chopped tomatos
white wine
crumbled feta
chopped olives (black and green)

mix all together

put the talipia in a dish and cover with tomato feta toppings. add some extra feta on top.

we served it with a potato crochette and some water crest sprout salad


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## ghettoracingkid (Feb 19, 2007)

a nice garlic mashed potatos maybe with some satueed julienne of some veggies should be good.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Brown basmati rice and vegetable stir fry would be nice.

Or a nice ratatouille

This is one of my favorite side dishes for fish, called Briam
- 3 zucchinis cut in half length wise and then sliced 1/2 thin
- 3 potatoes sliced to similar size
- 3 tomatoes sliced to similar size
- 1 large onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
- olive oil
- fresh chopped parsley
- fresh chopped mint and/or dill
- salt/pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1. After cutting the vegetables place in a baking dish
2. toss with oil, seasonings, and herbs
3. cover with foil bake in the oven until the vegetables are cooked to desired consistency (I like mine soft almost to the point of spreadable but that's up to you)
4. uncover and continue cooking until they get a golden color.
Most often eggplant is used in this recipe as well but I usually omit it in the summer months.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Tilapia is an extremely mild fish. So mild, it almost lacks its own character. Consequently, the fish is quite often served with distinctive seasoning or saucing. In any case, whatever you use as the principle seasoning will stand out more than it might with another, more assertive fish. Assuming you're going with a parmesan type cheese crust, which is not exactly what you'd call bold, your sides should be chosen accordingly. They should be neither so assertive as to bury the fish, nor so bland the dish lacks interest. Also, baked fish is usually pretty dry. 

Ratatouille is a good choice. However, let me suggest potatoes sauteed with rosemary, and broccoli with balsamic vinegar. Both of these are so simple they won't upstage the fish, their tastes are strong and straightforward, and they bring moisture and fat (in the good way). Also, the acid in the balsamic will perk things up without competing with the lemon most people serve with fish.

Cut the stems from the broccoli. Trim the stems by removing and reserving the leaves. Peel the stems with a vegetable peeler, and cut the stems into thin coins. Divide the crowns into into "florets". 

Peel the potatoes or not, as you prefer. Cut them in bite sized dice, put in a pan with salted water, bring to the boil, and remove from the heat. Drain the potatoes well. Clean the pan, and put about an inch of water in the bottom and add a little salt, and set aside. 

Preheat a skillet large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer over a medium-high burner. When the skillet is hot, add enough extra virgin olive oil to saute. When the oil has come to temp (it seems to shimmer and runs like water in the pan), add the potatoes. Allow the potatoes to cook undisturbed for a few minutes until they become fragrant and start to brown.

While the potatoes are starting to brown, bring the water you set aside to the boil. When the water boils, add the broccoli, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow the broccoli to simmer for about five minutes, and remove from the flame, still covered. 

By this time the potatoes will have begun to brown. Use a spatula to release them from the pan and turn them. Add more oil if necessary. Again, allow to brown more or less undisturbed for a few minutes. Again, release them from the pan with a spatula. After they are released, they will not stick so easily, and you can begin to saute(later) in the usual way, tossing frequently. 

Drain the broccoli, and return it to the pan with a little butter and a little salt. Allow the butter to melt with residual heat. Salt lightly. 

Toss the potatoes and check for even coloring. When the potatoes start to become golden add a little finely chopped fresh rosemary (a little goes a long way) and plenty of salt and pepper. Continue tossing every now and then until GBD (golden brown and delicious). 

Splash some balsamic generously over the broccoli, toss and serve immediately. 

BDL


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

I think you mean Watercress, a delicious green, similar in flavor to bean sprouts, as I recall, but not so earthy. Used to have that grow wild in my creek till the county sprayed for some other invasive weed of creeks. Everything died and blackberries took over. Lord knows I have enough of those already.


and BDL gave some great sides but I have always cooked them a bit differently. 
I cut potatoes into bite size chunks and toss in a bowl with olive oil , salt, pepper and either minced fresh rosemary from the garden or dried rosemary chopped and crushed with my mortar and pestle. After coating the potatoes well, I place them in a baking dish, covered with foil and roast them. they take about 45-60 mins depending on how small your chunks are and uncover the last 10-15 min to give them some color (usually throwing my fish or filet into the oven at this point).
I use a steamer to cook my broccoli and lemon. Simple pot with a steamer top. Put broccoli and lemon slices into the top, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and toss gently, wait for main pot to boil, add top with lid (usually around time i am putting protein into oven) wait 10-15 or your personal cooking preference. Everyone in my family tells me I undercook my veg, my wife and my cook friends rarely complain about overcooking and never about being undercooked.
Imagine flavor and texture will be close to BDL's recipe, but variances in cooking do cause changes. Best of luck. :beer:


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

We keep the tilapia and most other whole fish for bbq weather (doesnt happen much in Scotland) Slash the sides and rub in a mixture of garam masala,( indian spice mix you should be able to buy from the supermarket.) Lime juice, salt, black pepper and sliced green chillies and chopped coriander (cilantro) 
Rub it in really well inside and out. Leave for an hour and drizzle with oil. You can either grill straight onto the bbq or Ideally, wrap in banana leaf (asian supermarket)
You can bake it in the oven, but, unless you are into steamed fish, don't wrap it in foil.
Serve with stir-fried veg and Basmati rice

Even if you cook it just with salt and pepper, I would serve it with egg noodles with sesame oil and steamed/stir-fried Pak choi.


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## marduke (Jun 13, 2008)

Thanks for the help everyone. It came out perfect.

The Tilapia recipe had a ritz cracker/parmigan coating. Fillets were placed in lemon juice to wet the sides then coated with the mix. Placed in a olive oil coated pan, lemon and a little more oil drizzled on top. I regular baked until the fish started puffing up/cracking. Then I finished with a few minutes of convection baking to brown the crust. I must say, freshly grated parmigan cheese smells fantastic, both grated and baking. :smiles: (Fish was nice and moist)

Side dishes were noodles in a parmigan sauce with a touch of garlic and steamed brocolli with a garlic butter sauce (just enough to put a shine on the brocolli)

As said, the Tilapia is very mild. My son actually said the breading mix gave it some flavor. I had 4 fillets made. He ate them all. 

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll print out this thread and save it for future use.


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## ghettoracingkid (Feb 19, 2007)

ahh my spelling isnt too good, im tired between teh 2 full time jobs and the frustations at work.

good times but you are correct...


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