Cooking Together: Saffron rice & Taco-spiced Tilapia

Ladies, tell me – how exciting is it when you arrive home and see your better half preparing dinner?! This was my experience last week. On arriving home, I found my husband preparing some tilapia fillets for dinner. I was ecstatic! When I asked him what he was making – he said he was going to pan-sear the fish with Taco spices. I thought – “interesting…. this is going on my blog”. ☺

As a way of showing appreciation, I decided to make some Saffron rice to go with the fish and some sautéed bell peppers which would be ready by the time the fish was done.

INGREDIENTS:

Taco-spiced tilapia
Tilapia filet – 2
Taco spice – half packet
Bread crumbs
Olive oil
Garlic cloves crushed (fresh)
Non-stick spray

Saffron rice
Basmati rice – 1 cup
Water – 2.5 cups
Turmeric – a pinch
Slivered Almonds – 2 tbsp
Saffron – 6-7 strands
Butter/Indian ghee – 1tsp
Salt & sugar to taste
Bay leaf – 1

My husband made a paste of the taco-spice, bread crumbs, freshly crushed garlic and olive oil. He heated a non-stick pan and sprayed non-stick cooking spray on it. Using a silicone basting brush, he basted the spice baste on one side of the fish filet and placed it on the pan, spice side down for about 5 minutes. Then he basted the other side with the spices. I tossed on some green bell peppers on the side of the pan. After searing one side of the fish, he flipped the filet and seared it for another 5 minutes. When the fish started to flake, he plated them.

For the saffron rice, I added all the ingredients together and placed it in a microwaveable glass bowl covered with a paper plate. Then I microwaved the saffron rice for approximately 20 minutes (covered), checking after 10-15 minutes to ensure there was enough water.

It was fun cooking together that evening and we had a simple yet very delicious meal for the family ready in less than half an hour.