Broiled Tilapia with Pesto and Parmesan

posted on: Sunday, May 8, 2011

I've been thinking a lot about a good recipe to share for Mother's Day. I basically wanted a good tasting easy recipe where you could either email your partner and say, "here, make this" or if you're cooking for yourself it would still be a treat because it takes less than 15 minutes to make, yet it is full of flavor. I think broiled tilapia with pesto and parmesan is the perfect fit. The pesto, butter, parmesan mixture on top of the fish is splendid. The aroma of warm pesto is just so right, and the way melted parmesan forms a subtle crispy coat around the fish is also pretty fantastic.

My friend Melissa introduced me to this great dish.
She's kind of great like that.

Melissa is an amazing cook. She doesn't think she is, but really she is. She is also one of the most beautiful, kind, radiant woman that I know. I love being around her because she is always genuinely positive and because she is a very good mama to her kids. She creates a good balance between discipline and leniency. She is such a good example of the type of mother I'd like to be.

For a while we used to get together at least once a week, either at the gym or at the library. But then life got crazy with soccer, swim lessons, T-ball, and all those other lovely things that come with kids, Spring, and organized sports. Oh, and I started working part time too. Duh! That takes up all of my time these days.

A couple weeks ago I was craving Melissa time and we miraculously were able to get together for a quick lunch at her house. We had less then an hour before the both of us needed to run off and drive/pick-up our kids somewhere. In no time at all Melissa made the most incredible broiled Tilapia I have ever tasted.









Broiled Tilapia with Pesto and Parmesan
prep time: 5 minutes 
cooking time: 5-8 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon pesto
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 lbs tilapia fillets



  1. Preheat broiler.
  2.  In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan cheese, butter, lemon juice, pesto, pepper, onion powder, and salt.  Mix well and set aside. 
  3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on a medium sized casserole pan.  
  4. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes.  Flip fillets over and broil for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and cover with Parmesan cheese mixture.  Broil for 2 more minutes or until topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork, make sure to not overcook the fish. 
  6. Serve warm.
I love the picture that Melissa's daughter made for her, the "my mom can cook" picture on the side of her kitchen cabinet. Currently we have this picture that Enzo made for me for Mother's Day on display.

It came with this note


and I love Enzo because sometimes he lets me play Legos with him and sometimes he still lets me help him spread butter on his toast.

There are no words to describe the gratitude I have for the opportunity to be Enzo and Maria Aurea's mama. Today I've been revisiting some of my older posts, the ones where I wrote about parenting. I like this post best of all.

For those of you who are mamas I want to wish you a happy day.
Happy Mother's Day beautiful you! You make the world go round.

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