Tilapia Over Creamed Spinach

When we went to Chicago last year, we did the "foodie tour": we literally ate our way through Chicago. One of our stops was The Spice House, where we picked up some unusual spices for our kitchen here at home. One of my favorite purchases has to be the orange pepper. I had never seen it before, and it is such a simple idea. Where we would normally use lemon pepper, just use the orange!

Tilapia is one of those kinds of fish that doesn't have a lot of flavor on its own, so it will pick up seasoning nicely. It was a perfect way to highlight the orange pepper I love so much. And who doesn't love creamed spinach ? Well, maybe not everyone...but I do ! Spinach is my favorite vegetable, and making it this way always reminds me of my grandma, and cooking in her kitchen every Sunday afternoon.

Tilapia Over Creamed Spinach

For the fish:
4 tilapia filets (about 4 ounces each)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 teaspoon orange pepper (or lemon pepper if you can't find the orange pepper)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. On a plate, mix together the bread crumbs, orange pepper and salt. Lightly bread the tilapia filets on both sides. Place in skillet, and fry for approximately 3 minutes, until golden brown, then turn over and cook another 2 minutes until golden. Remove to a plate with a paper towl to absorb any excess oil.

For the creamed spinach:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed

In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour to form a roux. Stir until smooth, then whisk in the milk. Add the nutmet, salt and pepper, and simmer until sauce begins to thicken. Add spinach, and continue to cook 2-3 minutes just until spinach is tender. Remove from heat.

Place spinach on your place, and gently place a tilapia filet on top.