Easy Oven Roasted Tilapia

Nobody has ever been opposed to make ahead meals that are also a one pan affair. 

Drastically cut down the prep and cook time for days where you just cannot afford to waste your time. 

Tilapia is one fish that can stand bold flavors and prolonged curing time. That is not to say that it won't taste good when cooked moments after catching. 

The ingredients list might seem long but I promise it blends well and comes out fantastic.

INGREDIENTS

For the Fish

2 small onions 

8 small attarugu

1 small fresh ginger piece

1 tablespoon garlic cloves

2 teaspoons dry oregano

2 tablespoons dry basil leaves

3 cloves

1 gyadar miya (African nutmeg)

5 all spice

Half teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

Half teaspoon msg

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Juice of half a lime

4 medium tilapia (they weighed about 1.5kg){descaled, gutted, cut into pieces, washed and pat dried} 

For the sauce

Half a small onion

3 small tomatoes

20 fresh mint leaves

A little piece of fresh ginger  

Juice of half a lime

Pinch of salt

PROCEDURE

1) Put the onions, attarugu, ginger, garlic, oregano, basil, cloves, gyadar miya, allspice and black pepper into a food processor or blender and grind to form a paste.

2) Get a 15 x 14inch sheet tray and pour in the aromatics blend from step 1 then add the oil, salt, msg, oyster sauce and lime juice. Mix well to combine.

3) Place your tilapia pieces in the pan with the marinade and rub it all over the fish pieces. Make sure every piece of fish gets an even coating of marinade. 

4) Cover the pan with a cling film and refrigerate overnight. 

*if the large sheet pan won't fit into your refrigerator you can do the marinating in a smaller container and when you're about to bake you arrange the fish in the pan making sure to pour out all the leftover marinade and its juices onto the fish.

** subsequently if you are not marinating overnight you can simply go the one pan route and marinate your fish on the counter. No one likes washing unnecessary dishes.

5) The next morning, get your marinated fish out of the refrigerator and set it down on the counter to come to room temperature while you preheat your oven to 200°c. You want the oven to be nice and hot so the fish cooks fast and get crisp in a short time. Bake your fish for 30 to 40mins checking to baste the fish with any marinade or juices + oils that slides off it from the 20minutes mark.

Your house will smell beautiful of caramelized onions and aromatics when the fish is cooked through.

6) Turn off the oven and leave the fish to rest for some minutes while you make the fresh sauce to go with it.

PROCEDURE FOR THE SAUCE 

1) Chop up all the ingredients finely excluding the salt and lime juice. Then put them all in a bowl. 

2) Add the lime juice and salt then stir to combine.

You can eat this roasted dish as a meal on its own with the fresh sauce or pair it with any carb of your choosing. I served mine with fries for breakfast and my family gobbled it up in no time! 

The raw marinated fish can be frozen and it'll be good for up to a month. When you're ready to cook it just take it out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw out in the fridge overnight. The next day just oil your pan and arrange the fish then bake.

Enjoy 💕