I love seafood! Luckily I grew up in California where I have access to fresh seafood whenever I like.  My boyfriend on the other hand wasn’t the biggest fan of seafood when we first met.  Little by little I started incorporating seafood into his diet.  The trick was adding bold flavors, and a component of each dish had to be something he loved.

A hobby of mine is to mimic recipes I experience while dining out.  Over the weekend we had a late lunch at Bravo in Santa Monica.  I ordered a seafood dish, which my boyfriend loved.  I decided to mimic the dish for dinner last night, but remixed it by adding my own twist.  It’s very important to put your own spin on recipes.  Take what you love about a dish, and make it your own.

The dish I had ordered was tilapia served with risotto and steamed vegetables.  I decided to swap the risotto for pasta.  I had never tried whole wheat pasta before, so I thought I would give it a try.  I picked up two large pieces of tilapia from the market.  My boyfriend loves capers, so I thought I would add them to the dish as well.

I drizzled olive oil over the fish, and then seasoned the fillets with Italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, and garlic salt.  I cooked the fish in a mix of olive and vegetable oil.  While the fish was cooking, I boiled water and cooked the whole wheat pasta.  When the pasta was cooked I added olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes then mixed.  I plated the pasta, added the capers, and placed the fish off to the side.

The dish was a success with my boyfriend, who would have never ordered seafood in his life.  You can get anyone to eat anything if you incorporate things they love into a dish.  Remember leave out the red pepper flakes if you or your guests can’t handle spice.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did.