Fish still kind of intimidates me, so in an attempt to conquer my fears I made this Pesto-Crusted Tilapia.  Unfortunately, I didn’t season the fish before dipping it in the pesto, so learn from my errors and make sure you salt and pepper (and maybe even add a little lemon juice) to the fish first.

Pesto-Crusted Tilapia

Serves 4

• 2 large tilapia filets
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Grease a 9″x13″ pan and set aside.

Rinse and pat dry the fish.  Season with salt and pepper.

In a wide,  shallow dish, whisk pesto and eggs together until smooth.

In a separate shallow dish, mix oats, salt and pepper together.

Dredge the fish in the pesto mixture, and then in the oat mixture.  Place fish in the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until fish flakes when tested with a fork.

I served this with pesto pasta.  Mixed about 1/2 cup pesto with 3 cups whole wheat pasta.  Delicious!  The combo really played up the pesto flavor (and made up for the fact that I undersalted the fish).