Recipe: Middle Eastern Fish with Wild Rice

I've had a lot of good meals in the last month, but this one is definitely tops. It was inspired by a recent dinner at our friend Eran's house and recreated by Swati in our kitchen.

It's a great way to prepare any white fish (we used tilapia). We classified it as Middle Eastern, but it could possibly also cite influences from Mexican and Italian cuisine as well. We served this fish over a wild rice blend. But it could also work over couscous.

Feed this to others, they will be friends for life.

Serves 2

1/2 cup brown basmati rice
1/2 cup wild rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
16 oz organic tomato sauce
1 or 2 fillets tilapia
1-2 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

To make rice--
Add brown rice, wild rice and 2 cups of water to a medium sized pot. Bring to boil and let simmer for 35-45 minutes until rice is fully cooked.

To make fish--
In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Saute onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes until translucent. Add green peppers, cumin, coriander, oregano and thyme. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Place tilipia fillets directly over sauce. Cover the fish in the sauce, without letting the fish directly touch the pan. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Then flip fish over and cook for another 20 minutes.

Serve fish on top of rice blend. Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired. Enjoy!