Fish on Fridays

No, I'm not Catholic, but I think even for those who aren't, the tradition of fish on Friday is sort of ingrained in our culture. I'm used to the soup du jour on Fridays almost always being clam chowder. (And since I love clam chowder, I'm quite happy about it.) Most school cafeterias serve fish sticks on Fridays and the root of this tradition it is due to the fact that for many years, papal law decreed that Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays as a form a penance, violation of which could be considered a mortal sin. (I'm not getting into any religious debate here, just explaining the roots of Fish Fridays). After Vatican II, you could eat meat on Friday but had to perform another sort of penance in it's place. And during Lent, as we are now, you can't even do that, there is NO meat eating on Fridays. (Apparently the Church does not consider seafood to be meat, but don't try to tell that to the Vegans).

Now I grew up in the desert and most of my fish experience as a child was limited to sweet and sour shrimp, served at the local Chinese place, and shrimp cocktails. Yes, children, there really were forty-nine cent shrimp cocktails back when I was a kid. It was a little bit of chopped celery, followed by a thick layer of very tiny bay shrimp, topped with a glop of horseradishy cocktail sauce. It was served in a sundae glass with a plastic spoon and a little package of oyster crackers. I loved it when my grandmother would take me downtown to the Four Queens Casino for one of these treats. But most of my experience with fish was limited to my ordering the fried fish fillet, extra tartar sauce, at the Harvest House cafeteria when we went to the mall and a few tuna sandwiches. Mostly this was because my father didn't eat fish (no fish, no fowl was his rule, which means my childhood was full of red meat) although he did like shellfish, but that was out of our price range most of the time. Las Vegas was pretty fish deprived as a whole, being a landlocked desert. I can remember when the first Red Lobster opened in 1984, it was an event, and actual fish restaurant at family friendly prices. So I never ate much in the way of fresh fish until I grew up.

Today I love fish which is much more available due to flash freezing techniques and world farming and lower costs. One of my favorite types of fish is tilapia, a very mild white fish. I first heard of tilapia in the 1990's during the whole "Biosphere 2" experiments. Tilapia are a fast growing fish that is easily farmed. Practically unheard of at one point, tilapia is now the fifth most consumed in the United States. I think it's beacuse of it's mild flavor and firm texture and ease of preparation. It's not a "fishy fish" which is why most people like it. Tilapia is high in protein, low in fat and very low in calories and it's also pretty inexpensive.

Here is my favorite tilapia recipe for your "Fish Friday". Enjoy!

Lemon Caper Tilapia

1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. capers, drained
3 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets (you can substitute any firm, mild white fish)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbs. butter
salt, black pepper

Combine the chicken broth, wine, lemon juice and capers in a bowl. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter and olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place flour in a shallow dish, sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and dredge fillets lightly in flour. Increase heat of pan to medium high and heat 1-2 minutes until the butter turns golden brwn. Add fillet and saute 2-3 minutes on each side, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets from pan and keep warm. Add the broth mixture to the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 4 inutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Serve sauce over fish with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.