Tilapia with Pesto Pasta & Broccoli (30 minutes including cleanup!)

This is a super easy, efficient, and delicious meal that's perfect for when you are out all day and have to time to cook when you get home.  All together it only takes 30 minutes to make, serves 8 people, and if you prep all your ingredients early in the day it only takes 15 minutes to cook the fish when you get home.  It's also such a delicious dish that my Mom says she's going to make it next time she has a dinner party!

Near the end of the recipe, when you are making the sauce for the pasta, I have you using lots of 'splashes,' with not a lot of exact measurement.  That is because no matter how much or how little of everything you use, the sauce will still be delicious, so don't worry about it being perfect!

4 fillets tilapia
2 bunches of broccoli, washed and cut into florets
1 lb. Fusilli pasta
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz. jar Pesto from Trader Joe's
White wine
Lemon juice
Chicken stock
Salt
Pepper
Heavy cream



The before-hand prep:

Coat the tilapia in two big scoops of the pesto, then cover and put in the fridge.

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the broccoli for 5 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the broccoli from the pot and transfer to a colander.  If you are prepping in advance, chill the broccoli with ice, then cover and put in the fridge.

Use the broccoli water to cook the pasta for 12 minutes, drain into a colander, and rinse thoroughly.  If you are prepping in advance, cool the pasta, then cover and put in the fridge.

I love having lots of prep bowls with lids for these kinds of recipes, it just makes the before-hand preparation so much easier!

For the 15 minute cook time:

Preheat a pan heavily coated in olive oil.  Once the oil is sizzling, carefully lay the fish in the pan, cover, and cook on high for 5 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, clean the prep dishes from earlier and any other dirty dishes you have lying around the kitchen (I'm sure there are some other dishes you haven't had time to clean yet, there always are for me).

Flip the fish, then add the chopped onion, a splash of the lemon juice, and some white wine, then cook on high until the fish is browned on both sides and flakes easily.

Cut the fillets of fish in half to make 8 pieces in total, then transfer the fish to another dish, leaving the onions in the pan.  Add the bell pepper, garlic, and a big splash of the white wine to the pan and sauté until the bell pepper is just beginning to soften.

Add another large scoop of pesto along with some chicken stock, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and a tiny splash of heavy cream.

Cook until the sauce is bubbling vigorously, then turn off the pan, add the pasta, and mix thoroughly until the pasta is coated in the creamy sauce.

Serve a piece of the buttery fish alongside a scoop of the pesto pasta with several florets of broccoli.  All the flavors from the sauce, fish, and pesto meld together to create a perfect combination, making this dish absolutely delicious.  And it only takes 30 minutes to make, including prep and cleanup time!

 

 

To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.