Lighten Up: Dijon and Panko Crusted Tilapia

This past week I attended the American Association for Cancer Research conference.  I learned a lot and in my down time, I got to explore the wonderful city of Chicago.  It was my first time visiting and I positively fell in love.  There is so much to see and do and everyone is so friendly, it's unbelievable.  One of the biggest perks about Chicago for me was the vibrant restaurant scene.  Nearly every chef who has ever won Top Chef seems to have a restaurant in Chicago and I was determined to get my fill of tasty treats.  I ate Chicago style deep dish pizza.  Twice.  I ate at Rick Bayless' James Beard award winning restaurant Frontera Grill.  Twice.  And I bought a 1 gallon tin of the local favorite, Garrett Popcorn's Chicago mix - 50 % cheese corn and 50 % caramel crisp.

Needless to say after indulging in all of those culinary delights, when I returned home I was feeling like I needed to lighten up a bit.  So I decided to make an old favorite of mine: Dijon and Panko Crusted Tilapia.  This dish is super light, yet still filling.  And as an added bonus, with 2 tilapia fillets costing only $3 at my local supermarket, it was easy on the wallet too (which I very much appreciated after eating one too many meals in a restaurant).  Enjoy!

Dijon and Panko Crusted Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
3 Tbsp panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Line baking dish with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick spray.  Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper and place in foil-lined baking dish.

In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave (about 30 seconds on high).  Add mustard, lemon juice, and Worchestershire sauce and stir to mix.  Spoon mixture over fillets until coated.

Sprinkle panko over the fillets to coat.

Bake fish for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.  You'll want the fish to be just cooked through (white in the center when cut open and flaky).

Thinly slice the remaining half of the lemon and garnish the fish with the lemon slices.  Serve with your favorite side dish (I used pearled couscous) or a light salad.