Recipe: Kathy's Parmesan Tilapia with Garlic-Tomato-Basil Butter

I found this delicious fish dish on Epicurious.com, but the original recipe was floating in olive oil and butter.

I took the tilapia out of the frying pan and lightened up the buttery topping to cut this recipe's calories by 48 percent and trim the fat by 57 percent.

You can have a serving of my Parmesan Tilapia with Garlic-Tomato-Basil Butter for 379 calories and 22.8 fat grams.

KATHY'S PARMESAN TILAPIA WITH GARLIC-TOMATO-BASIL BUTTER

Makes 4 servings

For Garlic-Tomato-Basil Butter:

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

For tilapia:

1 pound tilapia fillets

1/2 cup trans-fat-free Panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

Cooking spray

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. To prepare the garlic-tomato-basil-butter, coat a small skillet with cooking spray, then saute the tomatoes and garlic over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to form a puree. Cool the tomato mixture completely. In a bowl, mix together softened butter, the cool tomato mixture and the rest of the ingredients. Set aside while fish is baking.

3. To prepare the fish, set a rack on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray the rack generously with cooking spray.

4. Combine the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, basil and pepper in a pie plate or shallow bowl and mix well.

5. Using a pastry brush, coat each piece of tilapia with light mayonnaise.

6. Transfer the tilapia to the pie plate and bread each piece. Put the fish on the prepared rack and spray each piece lightly with cooking spray.

7. Bake for 8 to 15 minutes, or until the breading is golden brown and the fish flakes apart when gently prodded with a paring knife. If the breading browns before the fish is done cooking, cover the fish with aluminum foil.

8. Remove fish from the oven, place on a serving dish and immediately divide the garlic-tomato-basil butter over each fillet so that the butter melts on top.

Per serving (1 tilapia fillet with 1/4 of the tomato-butter mixture):

379 calories, 22.8 fat grams, 91mg cholesterol, 13 carb grams, 567mg sodium, 25 protein grams

(Adapted from an Epicurious.com recipe)

(Reach Kathy Manweiler at 316-268-6266 or kmanweiler@wichitaeagle.com.)

(c) 2008, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).