Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter

I am still searching for ways to use my peppers--one pepper at a time when it comes to the small spicy ones. Tonight's dinner felt like a wild goose chase--I started out looking for tuna (canned) and pasta recipes and ended up with pan-seared tilapia, rice, and green beans. The search definitely went in the right direction. Serving rice with this was perfect because it meant I could slather some of the butter on the rice too.

We all loved this recipe. I can't go wrong with fish in my house--both M and J love fish. The chile lime butter was fabulous. I am looking forward to finding things to put the chile lime butter on (I know, not the healthiest....). Be sure to pat the fish dry (I step always skipped in the directions until I learned why it was important to do it). Drying the fish, or whatever you are frying, allows the food to brown. The only problem is that it didn't put a dent whatsoever into my stash of hot peppers. Oh well.

Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter
from Gourmet Magazine

Chile Lime Butter
1/4 c unsalted butter, softened (not melted, just softened--room temperature is about right)
1 T finely chopped shallot (optional--I left this out, didn't want to mess with cutting an onion)
1 t finely grated lime zest
2 t fresh lime juice
1 t serrano or jalapeno, minced (preferably red)
1/2 t salt

The Fish
24 oz (4 - 6 fillets) skinless tilapia fillet
1/2 t salt
2 T oil

To make the chile lime butter, stir together all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Pat fish dry and sprinkle with salt. Heat 1 T oil in a 12" heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until just smoking. Saute the fish, turning over once with a spatula until golden and just cooked through, 4 - 5 minutes. Do this in two batches if necessary, do not overcrowd the skillet. Serve each fillet with a dollop of chile lime butter.