This is a simple and elegant baked fish dish, originally developed with South African ingredients. Of course, you can substitute whatever greens you like. I add a little rocket (arugula) here, but you can make it just with spinach. Watercress is good, too. The same applies to the nut component. I used macadamia as South Africa is the world’s largest supplier and they’re cheap; but this works with pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts and pine-nuts amongst many others. Tilapia is a cheap freshwater farmed fish, readily available which makes it excellent for a budget-friendly recipe. Though I have to say, the last time I prepared the dish it was with monkfish cheeks. Members of the cod family and mackerel fillets also make great substitutes. This recipe is part of my Good Friday fish recipes collection.
Prep time 15 minutes/Cook time 20 minutes/Serves 2
Ingredients:
250g (9 oz) baby spinach
50g (1 ¾ oz) rocket (arugula) leaves
½ fresh cayenne pepper
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
125g (1 cup) chopped macadamia nuts (plus more to sprinkle on top of the dish)
175ml (¾ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
45g (½ cup) freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 tilapia fillets (about 200g [7 oz] each)
Lemon wedges, to accompany
