Sweet Potato Crusted Tilapia

So tonight we had some fish and I swear every one of us is a little bit smarter. This dish has a culmination of flavors that all blend together very well. I was really quite pleased with the results. Sweet potatoes and Dijon mustard coat the fish and place it on a bed of wilted spinach with carrots, onions and plenty of garlic. Compliment this with a Lime Cilantro cream sauce and you've got something to talk about. I had one person telling me she really doesn't like fish but.........her plate was clean. Thaw the tilapia fillets in the refrigerator over night or you can put them in a bowl and run cold water over them for about 20 minutes and they should be thawed. The first method will save some water. Now that the fish is thawed lets see what we need to put on it.

Tilapia Fillets, 3-4 ounce                                 6 each
Sweet Potatoes, peel and shred                       2 large
Dijon Mustard                                                as needed
Black Pepper, fresh ground                            to taste
Garlic Powder                                               to taste
Olive Oil                                                       2-3 ounces

Put your fish on a cookie sheet to catch the mess and season well with the garlic powder and black pepper, put a nice amount of Dijon mustard on one side of the fish and spread it  evenly on the fillet, press a nice amount of sweet potato on to the mustard and repeat the same with  the remaining fillets. I kind of split up the sweet potatoes into 2 piles so I don't use too much, leaving the second pile for the other side of the fish. Turn all the fillets over and repeat the process for the other side. The fish is now ready to cook but before you do lets get the stuff together for the wilted spinach and the sauce. For the spinach you will need:

Fresh Spinach                                   1- 10 ounce bag
Red Onion, julienne                           1/4 medium
Carrot, cut in matchsticks                  1 large
Fresh Garlic, minced                         2 cloves
Black Pepper, fresh ground                to taste
Sea Salt                                             pinch
Olive Oil                                            2 Tbsp

And for the lime cilantro cream you will need a half pint of heavy whipping cream, juice from 1 small lime, a pinch of sea salt, a little fresh ground black pepper and maybe about 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro.

Okay, things are all lined up so lets start cooking. Heat a large skillet with medium heat, add 2-3 ounces of olive oil and then carefully place the coated fish in the pan. I have a large electric skillet that worked great for this. Now that the fish is cooking go a head and start the sauce. In a small sauce pan add all the ingredients for sauce except the cilantro. Bring this to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the cream thickens slightly. Keep an eye on this as that cream will come right up and boil over if you don't
catch it. Once it has thickened pull it off the heat and reserve for later. Cook the fish for about 8-10 minutes and give it a turn being careful to get under it good with your spatula so you don't disturb the sweet potato crust much. At this point you want to get a 2 quart sauce pan hot to cook the spinach. You're going to want some medium high heat, add the olive oil and carrots, onions and garlic. Cook this just a few minutes and then add the whole bag of spinach. Stir until all the spinach has wilted and the vegetables are mixed well with it. By now the fish should be done, the sweet potatoes should be a golden brown and a little crisp on both sides. Let's plate it up. Split the spinach evenly between six plates, place the fish on the spinach  and drizzle the sauce around the outside of the fish and spinach. Garnish the whole thing with some chopped cilantro and it's time to eat. Enjoy!!!