Tilapia in Lemon-Butter Sauce (fakeroo Sole Meunière)

I've been on a roll lately with these decluttering food experiments. So, after some frustrations all day today, I was craving a tasty yet easy - and, of course, decluttered - weeknight dinner that would not disappoint. Crispy, buttery, and tangy...Sole Meunière is just that. Fans of Julia Child (including yours truly) know all about the Sole Meunière that was a unique part of her story about falling in love with French food. A classic French dish, it is a fillet of fish (Sole) that you dredge in flour, then pan-fry in butter, and serve with a pan sauce of butter and a generous twist of lemon. However, the slight problem for me was that none of the supermarkets in my little town had Sole. But I did have plenty of Tilapia, and discovered that you can achieve the desired results with Tilapia and pantry staple ingredients. Here is this very simple recipe:

Tilapia in Lemon-Butter Sauce

(fakeroo Sole Meunière)

You will need:
4 tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley (or ½ teaspoon dried)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a large shallow dish. Pat tilapia thoroughly dry, then dredge these in the flour mixture on both sides. Shake off excess flour, and add to the pan when the butter is hot. Cook for four minutes on medium-high heat, then carefully turn over and cook on the other side for another four minutes. Remove these, and set aside. Turn heat down to medium-low, and add remaining 4 tablespoons butter to the same pan, along with the 4 tablespoons lemon juice, and parsley. Stir well, making sure to scrape together all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tilapia fillets back into the pan, and spoon the sauce over each fillet. Turn the fillets over and do the same. Best served immediately, but it would also make a terrific next-day-lunch. Enjoy!

P.S.:  This decluttering thing may be my most successful new year's resolution yet! See some of these earlier posts for inspiration if you're inclined to do this in some creative ways  :)