Celebrate citrus season with this simple seafood dish!

If you’re looking for an easy, healthy dinner that’s ready in 15 minutes, you’ve come to the right place. I spend quite a lot of time watching Amalfi Coast vlogger Nicki Positano. I couldn’t even count how many Sundays my mom and I have spent binging her dreamy videos during quarantine. From beach picnics to epic Italian cliffside gardening to strolling through the romantic streets of Positano, I’ve been able to virtually travel through her lovely channel. Last month, Nicki briefly mentioned a simple roasted fish dish in a video and I thought, I’ve never in my life roasted fish! So here you go: dinner inspired by the Amalfi coast.

In her video, Nicki mentioned that her family roasted big eye fish with salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, and parsley. That’s it! Here, I roasted tilapia with lemon zest and lemon slices, which give the delicate fish a wonderful lemony flavor, and we absolutely loved it.

Lemon is one of my all-time favorite flavors. A friend once commented, “I’ve never not seen lemons in your kitchen. What do you do with them all? Are they for cleaning cutting boards?” I was so startled. My mom is from California and cooks with lemons all the time so I grew up thinking everyone had loads of lemons in their kitchen at all times! I love the bright freshness it gives to any dish and here it’s the star of the show.

Lemon Roasted Tilapia
3 tilapia filets
Lemon sea salt or Himalayan sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (about 1 Tbsp)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 lemon
Fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a jelly roll sheet or baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Season both sides of tilapia filets with lemon sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and set on parchment paper.
3. Drizzle filets with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle chopped garlic over filets. Zest a lemon directly over tilapia filets, then slice the lemon and set it on top of the filets.
4. Roast for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the filets) or until fish is fork-tender. Sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley and serve with rice and veggies.

Watch me make it:

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Happy roasting,

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