Pan Seared Creole Tilapia

We've been making a lot of recipes from the 21 DSD program and our favorite Paleo sites lately (paleomg.com, primal-palate.com, marksdailyapple.com, etc.). So, tonight for dinner, I wanted to be a little creative. Ok, maybe creole tilapia isn't all that creative... but at least it isn't something we've found on any other specifically Paleo website, so there!

The best part is, this recipe is really quick and easy.

Ingredients

• 2-4 Tilapia fillets
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 Tablespoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon white pepper (If you don't have white pepper, you can just double up on the black pepper; personally, I can't taste the difference.)
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 5 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• lemon wedges (optional, for garnish)

Method

1. Blend all the spices together in a small bowl.
2. Dredge the tilapia fillets in the spices. Make sure both sides of each fillet are fully covered in the spice rub.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high flame.
4. Cook each fillet for 2-3 minutes per side. (If your fillets happen to be thicker than 3/4 of an inch, you may need to let them cook longer per side.)

As you can see, I paired my creole tilapia with roasted sweet potato and asparagus because that's what we had in the house that needed to be used. However, I think sautéed kale would have been better than asparagus. You could also serve this over cauliflower "rice" instead of with sweet potatoes. 

Did I mention this was delicious? I love, love, love a good cajun or creole dish (yes, they are different, if only slightly). One of these days, I'm going to try making dirty rice from scratch... and make it paleo-friendly, of course. Anyways, until I get around to figuring that out, I hope you find this quick and easy tilapia recipe a good way to get your Louisiana fix. ;)

For the heat seekers: To get a really good bite, use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon more of the cayenne, garlic and pepper. 

P.S. This recipe is Paleo, Whole30 and 12 DSD friendly. Enjoy!