Quick & Easy: Tilapia with Peppers (5 Ingredients)

As you know I love Trader Joes. The nearest one is pretty far from me so I only get to go about once a month. Each time I go, I find something new and cool. In my most recent visit I stumbled upon a jar of Sambal Matah. I have never heard of it before but it was supposed to be an Indonesian Salsa and the ingredients sounded tasty….peppers, lemongrass, garlic, shallots. I’m trying to get better about not just buying things (especially foodie things)  unless I can think of a good purpose for it. For this item, I decided it would be great on a piece of fish. So I bought a jar along with some frozen tilapia and when I got home, I put it in the cupboard (tilapia in the freezer) and forgot about it.

Then while scouring my pantry the other day, I found it and remembered my fish idea. So I opened it and gave it a taste….it was hot and spicy and a little bit oily….and oh yeah, it is delicious. I am going to buy a couple jars next time I go to Trader Joes…I hope they still have it.

To go with this fish dish I remembered a restaurant my father took my family about 20 year ago where they simply sautéed different colored peppers in olive oil and garlic and it was so good. I had a few peppers on hand and decided to make those as the side dish.

To make the peppers.

I first tried to use a mandolin with my peppers but that made them too thin. I cut the above on my own and wish I would have cut them thinner. They were still good but I would make them a bit thinner next time.

Just put some olive oil in a sauté pan and add some crushed garlic. Cook for about a minute and then add the peppers. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the peppers are soft. That’s all there is to it for the peppers.

To make the fish.

Take a tablespoon or two of the oil from the salsa and heat it up in a  sauté pan. Add the tilapia and quickly brown it. Tilapia doesn’t take long to cook, so just about a minute or two on each side. Then I added a enough of the salsa on top of the fish to cover it well and let it cook down for about 5 minutes. That was all I did! It was so simple and delicious. My husband liked it so much we are having it again this week.
You could serve this with a starch if you like. I also made some quinoa for my husband. Rice would be nice too. But all in all it is a simple, healthy and tasty meal that just takes 15-20 minutes to put together. I hope you enjoy it!