Battered Fried Tilapia

I've been working longer hours in general, and don't feel like spending as long making dinner if cooking falls on a work day.  But I still like to sit down to a tasty dinner.  This one happened even faster than I was expecting.  Without constantly washing my hands to take pictures, it would have been less than fifteen minutes.

This recipe is getting a Passover designation because I like to batter things with matzoh cake meal.  It's like finely powdered breadcrumbs, or pre-cooked flour.  It resists oil and crisps up nicely.  Kind of expensive, and a seasonal item, but here we are more than halfway to the next Passover and I still have a lot, so I'm using it.  Fine breadcrumbs and flour are acceptable alternatives.

I had this with leftover cholent, which is not kosher for Passover, and the last bit of apple challah, which definitely is not a Passover item, but this was my Sukkot dinner, so no worries there.

*4 tilapia filets
*2 C matzoh cake meal (or 1 C each flour and breadcrumbs)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
*1 tsp dried parsley flakes
vegetable oil for frying

1.  Set up a dredge station of 3 pans: flour (or 1 C matzoh meal), egg beaten with 1 Tb water, and breadcrumbs or remaining matzoh meal stirred with salt and parsley.  Start heating a large skillet over medium high with about 1/2 C oil, enough to coat the bottom easily.

2.  Once the oil is hot, dredge each filet in plain meal/flour, then egg, then seasoned meal/breadcrumbs.

3.  Lay filets in oil and allow to fry until well browned and crispy, about 5 minutes.  Flip and fry other side another 5 minutes.  Tilapia is too thin to use a thermometer, but you can err on the side of overdone because the oil will keep it moist.  A cooked filet will flake with a fork, even if you need a knife to cut through the coating.

4.  Serve hot with lemon slices or, if you're me, horseradish.

Difficulty rating  π