BAKED Seasoned TILAPIA with MANGO SALSA

Mangoes are generally abundant all throughout the year in the Philippines; BUT I believe that they are the SWEETEST during the Summer season; probably because this is their natural harvesting time. Last night, we had another healthy dish that utilized this season's freshest ingredients. Another healthy, easy and tasty recipe to try for you and your family.

Let's begin by making the salsa. The mango salsa should be prepared ahead of time; it needs at least about an hour or so for all the ingredients to beautifully blend together. If I'm not mistaken, I've read this mango salsa recipe from Allrecipes.com (again!) several months ago. This is my 3rd time making them, and every time is different, like if I have other fruits around, like strawberries, avocado, pineapple or papaya; I'll throw it in the salsa. It adds a different flavor each time. For the meantime, here is the basic recipe for the mango salsa.

Ingredients and how to do it: (for 2 servings) 

MANGO SALSA

- 1 ripe mango, diced

- 1 red bell pepper, diced

- 1 green bell pepper, diced

- 1-2 green finger chilies, diced 

- handful of cilantro

- 1 red onion

- juice of 1/2 lemon

- juice of 1/2 orange

- a drop or two of hot sauce

- salt and pepper to taste

1) In a bowl, combine first all the hard veggies: the bell peppers, onion and chilies. Lastly add the diced mango and the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

tip: You can remove the seeds of the green finger chilies prior to dicing them if you want to lessen the heat.

2) Add in the juice of the the lemon and the orange.

3) For more zing, add a drop or two of hot sauce and mix everything well. Set aside and let rest for at least an hour before serving. DONE! =)

BAKED SEASONED TILAPIA

Let's move on with our protein: Tilapia. 

(I used about 2 medium Tilapia about 200-250 grams each.)

1) Place aluminum foil in a shallow baking tray; making sure there are excess of the foil to cover your Tilapias and make a pocket; and drizzle with olive oil.

2) Place your tilapias and generously season them with Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. Add another flavor profile by adding in some of your favorite dried herbs. I added these tilapias with generous dashes of dried basil leaves.

3) Thinly slice the remaining half of your lemon (the same one you used for the mango salsa) and place them on the tilapias. Drizzle with more olive oil before sealing the foil.

4) Cover the tilapias with aluminum foil making sure all sides are sealed. Marinate them inside the foil for at least 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat your oven to 180 C.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes. The tilapias in the foil are now baking in their own wonderful juices. Remove from oven and serve with some Mango Salsa on the side. Enjoy with hot rice. =)

tip: If you don't have an oven, you can grill this instead.

Each bite transports you to Island paradise! Close your eyes and you might hear waves crashing in. =)

Happy Eating! =)