Tilapia with Parmesan Crab Sauce

This will be a funny story, I promise. (Mildly amusing at the least.)

I saw this recipe on 28 Cooks a while back and bookmarked it. We've had frozen tilapia in the freezer (I don't know what possessed me to buy the bag of a million fillets) and this looked like an unusual yet delicious way to use them up. Not to mention, it is specifically mentioned that this recipe will garner compliments, and everyone needs those, right?

Now, as I mentioned, I had the tilapia in hand. In fact, I had all the ingredients I needed, save for the 8 ounces crab. This posed something of a dilemma. 8 ounces is a cup, a half-pound - really, not much. I went to two stores (three if you count checking while at Costco - but you shouldn't, because their products are bulky to begin with) in my search for a humble 8 ounce package of crab. In both places, 16 ounces was the smallest amount available. I wasn't up for finding something to do with the remainder (obviously, I was out of my mind), so I took this is a personal challenge.

While at Wegmans, I asked the clerk at the seafood counter if she could repackage a smaller portion for me. She said no. I stood there and looked sad. Still no. And then I asked the million dollar question:

"Um, well.... what's in your crab cakes?"

You see, each of the prepared crab cakes was 8 ounces. The perfect amount. She stated that they pride themselves on having each cake be 98% crab, minimal filler. While I don't necessarily agree with their 98%-ness, it was still more crab than not, and I rationalized that the filler itself would help the sauce thicken up. Sure, it would be weird and a little trashy to use a crab cake in lieu of normal crab, but I was desperate. All was not lost.

I prepared the sauce otherwise as written and it came together easily. I pulled the crab cake apart and added it to the sauce. Rather than just take it off and serve, I kept it on the heat for a minute or two, just to let the crab cake bits incorporate fully. The sauce was glorious and creamy and well worth the measures I had to take to make it!

Served with some wild rice and green beans, this was indeed a love-inducing dinner. Thanks to Fiber for sharing it with us!

Tilapia with Parmesan Crab Sauce
c/o Fiber at 28 Cooks
http://28cooks.blogspot.com/2008/03/tilapia-with-parmesan-crab-sauce-i.html

Serves 4

4 tilapia filets
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
A scant 1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp soy milk
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 c dry white wine
3/4 c Parmesan cheese, shredded
8 oz fresh crab meat (I use claw)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and nutmeg. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue whisking and cook until smooth. Add in Worcestershire, white wine, and Parmesan cheese. Add crab, mix well, and remove from heat. Season tilapia filets with salt and pepper. Place in well oiled baking dish. Pour sauce over tilapia. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve and enjoy!