Rye Resident is a Big Fish in Tilapia Circles

Edward Leonard is big in tilapia circles.

The Rye resident hooked an "Honorable Mention" in the Regal Springs Tilapia Chef Contest. Regal Springs Tilapia is the world’s largest producer and importer of Tilapia fillets to the United States.

Who knew?

Called "Fishing for Frugal Recipes", Regal Springs Tilapia put out the call for creative and cost-conscious cooks to devise frugal family meals costing less than $15 to prepare. A team of four restaurant chefs judged the contest, pouring over the entries to determine the winning recipe based on its creativity, ingredients and thoroughness of instructions. Judges were: Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno, Roger Herring of Socca, Chris Macchia of Coco Pazzo and Dirk Flanigan of The Gage, all restaurants in Chicago.

Rye's Leonard landed a mention for his Zucchini-Wrapped Tilapia.

If you cook it, snap a photo and send it to MyRye.com with your own review:

Ingredients:

4 6-oz. pieces of Regal Springs tilapia filets
2 fresh limes, juiced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp. honey
24 slices zucchini sliced lengthwise, thin
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
8 small shrimp, peeled and cleaned
6 artichokes, halved
12 grape or cherry tomatoes
1 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
3 fresh basil leaves, minced
2 whole, large potatoes
1/4 cup cream
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup jarred tomato sauce
8 black olives, minced
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make marinade, mix sea salt and lime juice together, then add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and honey. Marinate tilapia filets for 20 minutes. Overlap six zucchini slices four times.

Sprinkle with sage and wrap around tilapia filets. Brush with melted butter and place on a baking tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

In a small pan, heat 3 Tbsp. olive oil then add shrimp, cook 2-3 minutes. Add artichokes and tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.

Toss the salad with the lemon juice and vinegar.

Boil potatoes until tender, peel then put through ricer or mash. Fold in cream and 2 Tbsp. butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To plate, place a serving of mashed potatoes in the middle, spoon the salad around the potatoes then place the baked tilapia on top, spoon some tomato sauce around the salad, top with some olives.

Yield: 4 servings.