Quick and Easy Beans and Tilapia
My DH loves food. I used to think I was a foodie, but noooooo. He beat me hands down! Problem is, he cannot cook to save his life. And, when I remember what he must have been going through in my horrible cooking years, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.
Yesterday, we visited a couple who just had a baby. Immediately we entered the house, we knew something was going on in the kitchen. As the couple went about their business, DH and I wagered a bet on the type of soup (we were sure it was soup) that was cooking.
I said it was Onugbu (bitterleaf soup), and he said it was Ora/Oha. We were so ready to get down to business and chow, whatever soup it was, because the aroma was enticing!!!
Well, we never found out who won (I’m sure I did!), and never got to chow down, because DH got an urgent call, and we had to leave before the food made it to the dining table. *still shedding tears*.
We came home, and I just wanted something rich enough to take our minds off the soup we had just smelled, and I made this. Believe me, after this meal, we pretty much forgot the aroma of that soup!
Tip: it pays to boil beans in bulk and freeze in portion sized containers. You cannot beat frozen and thawed beans for a quick meal.
Ingredients (this serves 2)
Tilapia
2 whole tilapia, cleaned (mine were about 13oz each)
8 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of Cajun spice
*please disregard the stock cubes in the ingredient picture. I tasted my spice, it was really salty, so I didn’t need the cubes.
Beans
2 cups of cooked beans
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil/nchanwu/effirin
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 stock cube
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 350.
Pat the fish dry. Make slits on each side. Rub 2 tablespoons of cajun spice on each fish. Rub well.
Insert garlic cloves into the fish slits. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Heat oil in a pot or wok over medium heat. After 20 seconds, add the chopped tomatoes.
Stir for 5 minutes, then add the beans and the stock cube.
Stir for 2 minutes, then add the basil leaves.
Remove from heat, stir, and let the residual heat cook the leaves.
Serve with the tilapia, and enjoy your wholesome, very easy, very tasty meal.
Nutritional Value Per Serving of Tilapia:
Calories: 380
Protein: 74.3g
Fat: 7.1g
Carbs: 16.0g (0.1g of sugar)
Fibre: 6.3g
Cholesterol: 192.5mg
Nutritional Value Per Serving of Beans:
Calories: 253
Protein: 15.1g
Fat: 3.3g
Carbs: 43.2g (11.0g of sugar)
Fibre: 13.2g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Easy Beans and Fish
with mixed veggies
Deema