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Tilapia with White Wine and Lemon Basil Sauce

Recipes »  Main Dish  »  Fish and Shellfish

Tilapia is such a bland fish, it really needs to go with a sauce. This one plays nice with all the flavors.

"This was delicious. I don't think you really need that much flour though, wasted too much. I didn't have any brandy, so I put about a large pinch of brown sugar. I also used shallots instead, which was delicious because the shallots absorbed the lemon juice. I didn't go by measurement for lemon juice, I just added as needed while cooking. Don't be afraid to taste everything as you make it. :)" - shortcakehugs

Yield: 4 Servings Ready in 30 minutes

Cuisine: AmericanMain Ingredient: Tilapia

(4.5, 45) 89% would make again (reviews)

Favorite 1,597 people favorited
Try Soon1,435 people trying soon

Tilapia with White Wine and Lemon Basil Sauce
Tilapia with Lemon Basil Sauce photo by mpau0516 Give a medal for this photo
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Servings          
Original recipe makes 4 Servings
1/2 cupFlour
3 tablespoonsolive oil
4 tbllemon juice
2 tblButter
4 filletsTilapia; fresh
Kosher salt and pepper; to taste
White Wine and Lemon Basil Sauce; (recipe follows)
1 tablespoonOlive oil
5 dropslemon juice; added to olive oil
1 smallyellow onion; cut diagonally to form rings
1/2 cupwhite wine
2 tablespoonsbrandy
2 tablespoonsbutter
5 leavesfresh basil; cut crosswise with scissors to make thin strips
4 tablespoonslemon juice

Tilapia with White Wine and Lemon Basil Sauce Preparation

Prep Work:

Place flour in a plate and set aside.

Rince and pat fish fillets with a paper towel, season both sides of fillet with salt and pepper and let stand until fillets are glistening with moisture, about 5 minutes.

Make the White Wine Sauce -- do it now while the fish is resting. (Following are the directions for the sauce)

Coat the Fish: Coat both sides of fillet with flour and shake off excess and place them on a separate plate or paper towel, preferably in one single layer.

Sauté the Fish: Heat 2 Tablespoons of the Olive Oil, 2 Tbl lemon juice, and 2 Tbl Butter over high heat in a large non-stick skillet until oil is shimmering, but not smoking. Place the fillets in a single layer and immediately reduce heat to medium-high.

** Depending on the size of your skillet and the amount of fish your making, you'll have to add more butter and lemon juice and saute the fillets in batches.

Without moving the fish, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on each side and until the edges of fillet are opaque and bottoms are lightly browned. Use the "fish spatula" to gently flip fillets.

At the last minute of cooking, pour the sauce over the fish to warm it up. Serve immediately.

White Wine and Lemon Basil Sauce

1 tablespoon Olive Oil with some lemon juice (5 drops) added.

1 Small Yellow Onion, cut diagonally, to form rings.

1/2 cup white wine

2 Tbl brandy (plain)

2 tablespoons butter

5 or 6 leaves fresh Basil, cut crosswise with scissors to make thin strips.

4 Tbl lemon juice

In a sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the Olive Oil over medium heat.

Sauté onions until softened and beginning to color, about 1 1/2 minutes

Add wine and brandy, increase heat to high and bring to boil, boil until reduced to 1/4 cup -- about 3-5 minutes. Remove sauce pan from burner and pour into another container, such as a bowl or a 4 cup measuring cup.

Whisk in butter and Basil – and the lemon juice.

Set aside and keep warm until the fish is done.

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  • Tilapia with Lemon Basil Sauce photo by mpau0516 mpau0516

  • Calories Per Serving: 343
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    Tilapia with White Wine and Lemon Basil Sauce Reviews

    Give it a rating Would you make it again?   [please sign in to add your comment]
    1 weeks, 1 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes ago
    Awesome, easy to prepare and great with rice!
    2 months, 4 days, 23 hours, 9 minutes ago
    This was fantastic! My husband loved it, easy to follow the recipe! Truly a great dish, I was worried I didn't have brandy so I used sherry and it was great!
    2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 23 hours, 4 minutes ago
    Absolutely tasty, use a good wine and it will turn out really good. I added some mini Portobello mushrooms and orange Bell peppers in the same skillet to cook the fish in just a few minutes before adding the fish and then pushed them to the side to continue cooking along side the fish. It was a really good addition and then we ate it over rice! Yum!
    3 months, 1 weeks, 5 days, 33 minutes ago
    I always get the ingredients ready and then start follow the instructions ! Well, This time Didn't work so good because first should be the sauce preparation and then the fish!!!! I guess the receipt is good but the way they wrote here is not good.
    3 months, 4 weeks, 21 hours, 38 minutes ago
    Yummy !!!
    4 months, 1 weeks, 6 days, 17 hours, 16 minutes ago
    I made a mistake by having it ready before people were ready so it didn't get eaten immediately. I did not like how the onions tasted. None of my family enjoyed it.However it looked stunning!
    5 months, 3 weeks, 3 hours, 29 minutes ago
    Was delicious! I added chopped tomatoes just because I love them with basil!! And left out the brandy. Turned out beautiful and very yummy over quinoa.
    6 months, 1 weeks, 2 days, 17 hours, 50 minutes ago
    Just darn tasty! Light and flavorful.
    7 months, 2 weeks, 6 days, 1 hours, 51 minutes ago
    Great! Added garlic and used heavy cream. Also used shallots.... And old bay... Thanks for sharing!
    8 months, 4 days, 23 hours, 36 minutes ago
    This is the best tilapia recipe I ever made. I did not add the butter.
    8 months, 1 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 23 minutes ago
    I thought there was too much lemon. I will try about 1/2 the lemon next time.
    9 months, 1 days, 23 minutes ago
    The lemon was a little overpowering. The flavors just didn't come together the right way for me.
    10 months, 2 weeks, 1 days, 20 hours, 15 minutes ago
    11 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 20 hours, 16 minutes ago
    This was delicious! Easy,simple but so tasty! Topped it on noodles and added sautéed sliced portabella mushrooms on top. The whole family loved it.
    11 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 23 hours, 22 minutes ago
    Loved this recipe - brandy really adds a nice addition to the lemon, butter, and basil. Will definitely make this again.
    12 months, 2 days, 20 hours, 47 minutes ago
    It was absolutely delicious!! My family loved it.
    1 years, 1 weeks, 17 hours, 1 minutes ago
    This was extremely delicious! The only difference I did was using cod fish instead of tilapia only because my boyfriend likes it better, but the taste was amazing!
    1 years, 3 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 53 minutes ago
    good
    1 years, 1 months, 1 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes ago
    Made this tonight with shrimp and wedge potatoes. Although the fish was good there was a little something missing. Next time will omit the brandy. Thanks for sharing!!! Will definetly make again...
    1 years, 1 months, 1 weeks, 2 days, 21 hours, 12 minutes ago

    Tags

    1. Tilapia
    2. Wine
    3. butter
    4. basil
    5. onions
    6. American

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