Baked Cajun Tilapia

A new reason for me to stack up Tilapia in my freezer and Cajun seasoning in my pantry…

I have already made this baked Cajun tilapia way too many times. Each time it got better and better and I cannot get over with this dish that easily. I love sea food, when it’s baked I love it even more.

I have tried Cajun seasoned sea food in many restaurants without knowing the fact that there actually exists a cuisine called “Cajun Cuisine”. Now that Cajun seasoning has become a vital part of my cooking, I decided to collect a few information about it. I was surprised to learn some interesting facts about Cajun cuisine.

Cajun cuisine is  the style of cooking named for the French speaking Cajun immigrants who got deported from Acadia in Canada to Louisiana, USA.  The vegetables: bell pepper, onion and celery are called as the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine. Smoked meats are a major part of this cuisine. Some of the popular Cajun dishes are Gumbo, Jambalaya and Boudin.

Cajun seasoning is basically a blend of many spices and aromatic herbs which impart the smoky and spicy flavor to it.  The ingredients in Cajun seasoning are Cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, bay leaf, dried thyme, dried oregano, paprika etc.  It’s easy to make homemade Cajun seasoning, however I used store bought one.

Baked Cajun Seasoning

Ingredients:

• Tilapia, fillet, boneless frozen or fresh- 4
• Cajun seasoning, store bought or homemade- enough to season the tilapia fillets, about 1 tbsp each side
• Salt- little
• Cheddar cheese- 1/2 cup

Vegetables to make a bed while baking:

• Carrots, cut into strips- 2
• Celery, cut into strips- 2 stalks
• Green pepper,cut into strips- 1
• Potato, cut into strips- 2
• Cajun seasoning- enough to season the veggies, about 3 tbsp

Instruction

• Pre heat oven to 375 F.
• Season both sides of the Tilapia fillet with Cajun seasoning.

• Also, rub little salt on the tilapia.
• If the Cajun seasoning has high sodium in it, you can avoid the salt.
• Slice the veggies: carrots, green pepper and potatoes into long thin slices.
• Season the veggies with Cajun seasoning as well.

• Spray non-stick cooking spray on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
• Spread the veggies evenly on the baking sheet and make it into a bed.
• Place the Tilapia fillets on the veggies.

• Bake for the initial 25 minutes.

• Take the Tilapia out of the oven and spread cheddar cheese over each fillet.

• Change the oven mode to “low broil” and then broil the tilapia topped with cheese for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese turns golden brown in color.

• Transfer the baked tilapia on a plate.
• If the veggies have not turned tender, after removing the tilapia you could bake just the veggies at the same 375 F for another 15 minutes.
• Serve the baked tilapia along with the baked veggies.