I made this on a total whim yesterday having no idea if it would work. To my surprise it did AND the husband actually said he liked it... UNSOLICITED!
Here's the story. I had only 4 tilapia fillets defrosted for dinner. I knew it wasn't going to be enough for us so I pulled out a frozen bag of bay scallops for the kids and decided to have fun with the fish for us.
I wanted to cook on the grill (it's been so nice out lately) so I decided on foil packets. I served the result without saying a word and watched the husband eat. He then said, "This is pretty good. I even like this 'stuff' (referring to the couscous) but it's just a little too tomatoe-y"
Note: He doesn't like tomatoes.
Then I said, "Really?! I didn't think you were going to like it."
"Then why did you make it?"
"'Cause I wanted to experiment." 
"I hate it when you do that. Can't you just make normal things?"
"No, no I can't."
LOL He's gotten pretty used to me and my experiments and nothing makes me smile more then when he genuinely likes something. Considering he's a Cheeseburger/Mac&Cheese kind of guy, I take it as a compliment.
Here's what I did…
- ¼ cup Uncooked Whole Grain Couscous
- About 10 Cherry Tomatoes Halved
- 4 tilapis fillets (3-4 oz each)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Kosher Salt
- Dried Thyme
Preheat the outdoor grill.
Lay out a large sheet of aluminum foil. Place ½ the couscous (26g) in the center.
Top the couscous with the tomatoes cut side down.
Lay 2 tilapia fillets on top. Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and dried Thyme liberally.
Fold the packet closed sealing it so the steam doesn't escape.
Repeat for the other 2 fillets making 2 packets total.
Grill over a medium flame for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5.
Open the foil and viola!
The fish is cooked and the couscous underneath soaked up the lemon juice and steam. Some of the couscous also toasted on the edges making a fun texture and nutty flavor.
I served with some frozen Brussels sprouts I cooked on the grill.
It was such a pretty meal! And the fish was delish!
Before I called the boys in (they were outside in the yard-MAN how I love warm weather) I snapped this picture of the dinner table.
Everyone ate so good and everything was cooked on the grill. NO MESS! It was awesome.
In case you are wondering I put the small scallops in a grill safe pan with a little olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, parsley and salt making like a scampi. The 6 year old loved them along some quick brown rice. Then baby ate pretty good too! He loved the Brussels sprouts, rice and even ate a couple of scallops.
It was a good meal. 🙂
| Servings | Amt per Serving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Tilapia and Tomato Packet with Couscous | |||
| Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs | |
| 320 | 4g | 5g | old: 6 | new: 8 |
| Sugar | Sat Fat | Carbs | Protein | |
| 5g | 2g | 27g | 44g | |
Made this tonight for my boyfriend. He did not like it and had a steak ready to go. That was fine with me--now I have the other packet to bring to work for lunch tomorrow!
I almost forgot to follow up! I did the foil packets just as I described in my previous post - lemon herb marinated Cod, mushrooms, onions, peppers, couscous. This was incredible! Cannot wait to make something similar in the future. My only issue was that I didn't trust the system quite enough and cooked for an extra 5 minutes or so - the fish was a teensy bit dry. Still totally edible though - just anxious to retry. Thanks, Roni!
I've been wanting to try this since you posted last week. I'm going to try it tonight with some marinated cod and add mushrooms and peppers to the couscous mix. Has anyone been able to find wild caught tilapia anywhere? I LOVE tilapia but have trouble buying the farm raised stuff (every time I picture those conditions for the fish - makes me a little gaggy on eating it). If you have any suggestions on where to buy wild caught - let me know! Thanks for posting this - will let you know how mine turns out! 🙂
This looks delicious - at Jamie's Italian they have a dish called 'fish baked in a bag', which is a fillet of white fish on a bed of sicilian cracked wheat (a bit like couscous!) and tomatoes and stuff, baked in a bag and served! Pretty similar to this, and every bit as delicious looking!
This looks delicious, Roni. I have some Alaskan Polluck I think would do nicely like this -- and whole wheat couscous in the pantry, too. Thinking I might throw some pecans or pine nuts in with the couscous... :)Thanks for the great idea!
Nicole - I love bay scallops. Those are the small ones. They are sweet and super easy to prepare. They can get pricey but you can find them int he frozen section a little cheaper. That's what I usually do when I do buy them which isn't too often. Maybe 1-2 times a year.
Sue - all fixed. Thanks.. sometimes I write things up so fast I skip things without realizing it. Each fillet was 3-4 oz each and I used 2 in each packet. Hope that helped!
Neat idea! I've only used foil packets to mamke "hobo dinners" which consists of potatos, corn, carrots, a whole bunch of other veggies and a few spices. It's a staple when I go camping with family and friends! This looks delicious though. I absolutley love tilapia but I have to admit I've never had couscous. This will be a fun one to try!
Sue, I could be wrong but the recipe stats indicate she used 2 filets per packet. I hope that helps...
Your recipe called for using half the couscous and one filet in one foil packet, although four filets were listed in the ingredients. Did you make two foil packets with two filets in each packet? How many ounces were each filet?
I have been wanting to try scallops--I have never loved seafood. I've always eaten canned tuna and just recently have finally learned to enjoy shrimp. (Before I thought of shrimp as just "ok" but now I like it!) But scallops always seem so expensive! What kind do you buy?