By Jane Feltes

I love Olive Garden. Whatever! I'm sure there's something wrong with you too. Anyway, I love it and I love this one fish dish there but I hate being forced to scarf down like 6 breadsticks before it arrives. (Side note: one time I asked the bartender at my local Olive Garden how come they don't sell the breadsticks frozen at the grocery store so I can make them at home? And he answered "Then no one would have a reason to eat here." Except for to get this fish dish, he had a point.)

Tonight I'm going to copy the Tilapia dish I'm always too full to finish at OG (pictured left). It's got super-tasty, parmesan encrusted Tilapia and a fresh, light pasta primavera. I love this pasta cold the next day for lunch so I'm making two servings. Also, I Googled around a bit before I first made this a few years ago and found out the secret ingredient is Alfredo sauce. Whaaat? Luckily you can buy it in a little jar. Let's go!

For the fish:

1 Tilapia (or similar white fish) filet
1 tbsp Alfredo sauce

For the parmesan crust:

1/8 cup bread crumbs
1/8 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
dash of cayenne
dash of garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of salt
a few cranks of the pepper mill

For the pasta:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow small summer squash
1/2 small zucchini
1/2 red bell pepper
1 minced garlic clove
1tbsp butter
1tbsp Alfredo sauce
1/4 box angel hair pasta
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt & Pepper

OK, this seems like a lot-looking at it but I promise it's easy. The only leftovers us single people need to worry about are the veggies and there are just enough for an awesome stir-fry later in the week so that is my plan for those.

To start, preheat your oven to 425 and get a pot of salty water boiling on the stove. If you have any frozen bread, and you should, take it out, cut it into smallish pieces, and throw it in the oven on a cookie sheet while the oven preheats. This will dehydrate/toast it and you can then easily throw it in your food processor or chopper thingy and make bread crumbs from scratch, like I do.

Pat your fish filet dry and place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil that you have prepped with nonstick spray. Pour 1 tbsp store-bought Alfredo sauce over top.

Mix the parmesan crust ingredients in a small bowl and pat them on top of the fish.

Bake in the oven for roughly 12 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Meanwhile, boil1/4 of a box of angel hair pasta according to the box directions while you prepare your veggies.

12 Comments