Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda

OK, I changed my mind. I kept looking at the last tilapia recipe but just wasn't too excited about it. So I switched to a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis (by the way, my wife said that I should put a picture of Giada here to increase readership of my blog...will it work?) The kids once again thought it was "ok" and were willing to eat their portions. I thought it was good. My wife really liked the sauce, but didn't like the texture of the fish. The only two times she has had tilapia have been the two times I have cooked it, so is it that she doesn't like tilapia, or just that I can't cook it? In any case, I'm going to try this recipe again with halibut to see if that makes a difference. This recipe was very easy to make and didn't take much time at all. Next time I will also use dried basil instead of fresh, since I liked making the sauce a day in advance and I think the dried will be fine for this. It is also much cheaper. :)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons
• 4 anchovy fillets, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 6 (6-ounce) skinless tilapia fillets
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Melt the butter and olive oil in a heavy medium saucepan over low to medium heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Add the anchovies and stir until the anchovies dissolve, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in the orange juice, basil, and lemon and orange zests. Season to taste with salt.

The bagna cauda sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before using.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 degrees F. This step is only needed if you can't fit all of the fillets in your pan.

Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and brush both sides of the fish with remaining 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil. Working in 2 batches, fry the fish until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to platter. Cover with foil and keep warm in the oven while cooking the second batch of fish. Drizzle the sauce over and around the fish and serve.