Roasted Tilapia, Potatoes and Lemons

ast month's issue of Real Simple offered a 4-week dinner plan marketed as a shake-up to the tired routines we all fall into at times. I certainly needed the nudge, as I've been doing a terrible job of cooking anything for myself - healthy or otherwise. However, exciting as the menus look, following this easy program is turning out to be a much bigger challenge than it should be.

Part of the problem is my relationship with time; I get so caught up on how long it takes to cook that I'd rather cook a big meal on Sunday eat leftovers for a week, than to commit to all that prep, all that effort, and all those dirty dishes. I also get overly panicked buying a week's worth of ingredients all at once. The recipes are each written for 4 servings, and looking at the easy-to-follow shopping list, there shouldn't be any waste since they follow typical packaged amounts. However, I'm cooking for one. Half an eggplant here, a nearly full bag of carrots there - anything that doesn't get incorporated into a dish means I have to come up with a creative solution OR throw out (waste) unused goods. Until I meet and marry Billionaire Husband, MD, I'm afraid my money anxiety isn't going away.

BUT - I'm not just posting a list of all my fears. With all that out of the way, I'll focus on the meals themselves for the rest of this series. I'm going one week at a time, mostly for anxiety-management but also to allow flexibility in the coming weeks. Here's the first night's dinner:

MONDAY:



Roasted Tilapia, Potatoes and Lemons

Serves 4 (I divided everything by four to get a single serving)

Hands-on Time: 10m

Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

* 1 pound baby potatoes (about 12), halved
* 1 lemon, thinly sliced
* 8 sprigs fresh thyme
* 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
* 4 6-ounce skinless tilapia fillets
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.

2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, lemon, thyme, 2 tablespoons oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer.

3. Roast, tossing once, until the potatoes begin to soften, about 20 minutes.

4. Toss the olives with the potato mixture; nestle the fish in it. Drizzle the fish with the remaining oil and season with paprika and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

5. Continue to roast until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp and the fish is opaque throughout, 12 to 15 minutes.

Tip

To pit an olive, place it on a cutting board and firmly press on it with the side of a chef’s knife (blade facing away from you). When the olive splits, pull out the pit.

Nutritional Information

Calories 374; Fat 15g; Sat Fat 3g; Cholesterol 85mg; Sodium 567mg; Protein 37g; Carbohydrate 23g; Sugar 0g; Fiber 2g; Iron 3mg; Calcium 34mg