This dish was inspired by a salad served at San Francisco’s Nopa restaurant. I love the combination of smoky paprika, juicy oranges and the bright green flavors of asparagus. At the restaurant this dish is more of a salad with roasted calamari, but my chances of finding decent calamari in North Dakota are about as good as stumbling across a suitcase filled with cash in my backyard, so I used tilapia fillets instead.
When you’re land locked frozen fish is your friend but there are very few fish that can stand up to being frozen solid and not watery or chewy once defrosted. Tilapia is great in that respect, baked, broiled or pan-fried it turns out beautifully.
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Pan-Fried Tilapia with Asparagus and Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
Yield:
4 servings
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Total Time:
20 minutes
Pan-fried tilapia fillets served with asparagus tossed in an orange, balsamic, and smoked paprika dressing.
Ingredients
For the Asparagus:
- 2 navel oranges
- 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
For the Tilapia:
- 2 pounds tilapia
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
For the Asparagus:
- Using a knife, peel the oranges, removing all the white pith. Cut between the membranes to release the segments into a bowl. Break segments into smaller pieces with your hands and set aside.
- Combine vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk in the olive oil then add the orange pieces.
- Heat a medium saucepan of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus and cook until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop cooking. Arrange asparagus on a platter and spoon some of the vinaigrette over the top. Reserve remaining vinaigrette for the fish.
For the Tilapia:
- Season tilapia generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish and cover fillets on both sides with flour, shake off excess and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add half the tilapia fillets and fry on one side until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat on other side until fish is cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from pan and add the other tablespoon of oil if necessary. Fry remaining fillets.
- Spoon some vinaigrette over tilapia and serve with asparagus.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 775Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 129mgSodium: 329mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 3gSugar: 17gProtein: 62g
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