One of the things I asked for this year for Christmas was caper berries. Jedd hit every store in the area until he finally found a store 30 miles south that carried some. So far we've just been snacking on them, but when we found some tilapia on sale this week it dawned on me that this mild, flaky fish would be fantastic as the main protein for a piccata. And we had beet greens too. The combination of lovely, lemony tilapia and beet greens seemed to impossible to resist.

Still, I was nervous at first that the caper berries would overpower the gentle flavor of the fish. No need to worry. The tang and zip of the capers really rounded out the mild brightness and thin, crisp crust of our tilapia piccata. This classic combination of flavors translates perfectly into the realm of fish.

Beet Greens

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

Salt and pepper

1 bunch of beet greens, with the thickest stalks trimmed

1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes

1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth

Chop the beet greens into bite sized pieces. Saute the onion in a frying pan with olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. When the onion has softened, add the broth, chili flakes and beet greens. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Crispy Tilapia Piccata

2 thin pieces of tilapia

1 tablespoon of flour

1 teaspoon of lemon pepper

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

Olive oil

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of butter

4 caper berries

Mix the flour, lemon pepper and paprika together. Pour the olive oil into a frying pan, and heat until hot but not smoking. Coat the tilapia in the seasoned flour and drop into the frying pan. Cook for 3 minutes a side. Pull the tilapia out and deglaze the pan with the lemon juice. Melt the butter into the lemon juice and serve over the tilapia along with the caper berries and beet greens.

Serves 2.

(Photos by Launie Kettler)

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