Wow…that title sounds like a lot of good food for under $10.00 for a family of four…but it’s true! The word roulade simply means rolled. It looks (and sounds) fancy but it’s really easy. But if you don’t want to roll the tilapia, you can mound the crab stuffing on top of the fish and it will taste just as good. For this particular menu I used Rice A Roni (long grain and wild rice flavor) because it was on sale for 88 cents a box and hey, I have no problem eating that every once in a while. If you’re against boxed foods, you can use a different starch or make your own rice dish. I bought one yellow squash and cut it on the slant and then steamed four carrots, one for each person. You’ve got a couple of veggies, a protein and a starch..*I got my tilapia on sale at Albertsons when it was buy one frozen bag, get two. It is currently on sale there. I only needed 3 ounces of the canned crab (feel free to use fresh if it’s in your budget) but I went ahead and used it all and will make mini crab cakes with the leftovers).
TILAPIA & CRAB ROULADE
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx $9.77
Ingredients:
- 4 tilapia fillets
- 1/2 of 6 oz can or 3 oz of canned crab (whatever is less expensive is what I used)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (make your own, use canned or even panko if you want)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- melted butter
- paprika
Directions:
Saute the chopped onion and celery in 4 tbsp butte in frying pan until the vegetables are tender. Add parsley to the frying pan.
Remove the frying pan from heat and stir in bread crumbs, crab meat, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.
Grease or spray a 9×13 inch oven pan.
Spread the crab meat mixture over the tilapia fillets and roll them up. Use a toothpick if needed to keep it together. Place the stuffed tilapia in the greased dish seam side down.
Sprinkle melted butter and paprika over the stuffed tilapia. Cook in 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
WILD RICE & HERB RICE
I used Rice A Roni…..simply follow the directions on the box! Very easy. This cooks for about the same time as the fish.
YELLOW SQUASH & CARROTS
I used one yellow squash and four carrots that I sliced in half. I cooked both the carrots and squash in boiling water (just a bit) until it was fork-tender, then plunged them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. About 5 minutes before the rice and fish were finished, I heated up about a tablespoon of butter in a saute pan, added the carrots and squash and cooked till warm….add kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
Tammy’s Tip ‘O the Day
*For a pretty presentation, you can add a bit of diced tomato, sliced green bell pepper or any kind of veggie you have in the fridge that adds color to the plate…not necessary but makes it look pretty!