Orange Cashew Rice {With Baked Tilapia}
Ingredients
For the rice:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup basmati rice
- ½ cup roasted cashew pieces
- ¼ cup chopped yellow peppers
- ¼ cup chopped red peppers
- 3 green onions, minced
- 1 (8-ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained well
For the tilapia:
- 4 (6-8 ounce each) fillets tilapia
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 lime, finely grated zest and juice
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
Instructions
- For the rice, in a 2-quart saucepan, bring the water, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil and salt to a boil. Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan and lower the heat to a gentle simmer, simmering the rice for 25-30 minutes, until the rice is cooked through and the liquid has totally evaporated. Let stand, covered, off the heat for 5-10 minutes. Scrape the rice into a large bowl. Add the cashew pieces, peppers and green onions. Season with salt and pepper and add the drained orange segments to the rice, folding them in gently to prevent the oranges from breaking.
- For the tilapia, while the rice simmers, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and coat a 9-10 inch cast iron pan with nonstick cooking spray. Rinse the tilapia and pat dry. Place the fish in the cast iron pan in a single layer. Season each fillet on both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle lime zest over the fish and drizzle with lime juice. Place a pat of butter on each fillet. Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes until cooked through. Serve rice and fish immediately, spooning pan juices over fish, if desired.
Notes
Rice: if you don't have basmati rice on hand, you can try substituting long grain white rice since it has the same basic rice-to-liquid ratio.
Cashews: also, if your cashews are untoasted/unroasted, simply scatter them in a skillet and toast them for a few minutes on the stovetop for a few minutes until golden.