Baked Coconut Tilapia Recipe

I'm always on the lookout for fish recipes - especially those using Tilapia.  It's such a nice mild fish and the price is right on it too.  I buy the large box in the freezer section - each fillet is individually wrapped inside the box so it stays nice and fresh in my freezer.  Here's a recipe we love at my house...........

Baked Coconut Tilapia
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup bread crumbs (fresh or in the round box - Progresso I think)
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
4-5 Tilapia fillets (about 4-6 oz each) (other mild fish could be substituted, such as orange roughy)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine half the coconut (1/4 cup) and the bread crumgs in a food processor (a blender might also work??) and process until fine crumbs form.  Pour into a shallow dish and stir in remaining coconut and salt.  Beat egg in a separate shallow bowl.  Dip the fish in the egg, then in the coconut mixture.  Place on a small, ungreased baking sheet.  Bake, turning once, until crust is light golden brown and fish is flaky - about 7 minutes per side.

In restaurants I usually see a dipping sauce served with it's cousin, coconut shrimp.  Something like orange marmalade warmed in a pan over low heat and thinned with rum might fill the bill, if you'd like a dipping sauce (per Paula Deen).  It's also good without using a dipping sauce.

The first picture below is breading the tilapia.  The second is where it is on the baking sheet and ready to go into the oven.  I've used parchment paper for easy clean-up but that's not really necessary.