Baked Tilapia and Potato Bacon Torte

Let me start out by saying that I am not a huge fan of seafood, fish, or anything that lives in water. On the other hand the SLP LOVES it all so I feel compelled to branch out and cook some of the water living creatures to keep him (and I) diversified in our food consumption. Here follows our fish dinner =)

I started working on dinner beginning with the Potato Bacon Torte found here on the Food Network website courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian's $10 dinner show. So easy to make and delicious. DO NOT be intimidated! Super easy! Let me tell you that the pie crust is to die for and I will be reusing for an actual pie.

Potato Bacon Torte

4 strips bacon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts





Baked Tilapia in Garlic and Olive Oil

4 (4oz each) tilapia fillets
4 crushed garlic cloves
3 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used just salt and pepper)

Combine onion, garlic, and olive oil in microwave safe bowl. Warm 30-60 seconds....just long enough to get the onions rather soft. Place tilapia in non-reactive pan and scoop onion/garlic/oil mixture over the top.





Cover the fish and refrigerate for several hours to allow the fish to soak in the marinade. Turn at least once.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Transfer tilapia and marinade to 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. I simply marinated and baked in the safe dish to save on clean up =)

Must have a veggie so I served with fresh broccoli.