This weekend, I went back home to Kingston to visit my mom. Of course she pulled the whole “you cook all these delicious recipes and never cook for me!!” which is only half true. Either way, my mom deserves to be cooked for all the time and she is after all, one of the main reasons I love cooking so much. I decided to try and live up to the hype that she feels and cook her a nice Saturday dinner.

Herbed and White Wine Butter Tilapia with Garlic Rice and Caprese Stuffed Mushroom Caps with a Balsamic Reduction:

Ingredients: 2 tilapia filets, 4 tbsp Mrs. Dash original spice, 1 cup white wine (I used Lindeman’s Pinot Grigio), 1/3 cup of butter, 2 cups garlic rice, 6 portobello mushroom caps (washed and scooped out), 2 tomatoes (wash
ed and sliced thinly), 1 200g container of bocconcini medallions (you can use any style cut of this cheese or you can use Buffalo mozzarella if you prefer), 1 tbsp fresh basil, 1 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions: preheat oven to 425 degrees, cover tilapia with spices and the white wine, butter sauce. Wash and scoop the portobello mushrooms and stuff with 1 slice of tomato
and 4 small pieces of bocconcini. Place the tilapia in the oven for 35 minutes exactly, then place the mushrooms in the oven for the last 20 minutes. While the fish and mushrooms are cooking, place the rice in the rice cooker (or a boiling pot of water) and prepare the balsamic reduction by bringing the balsamic vinegar to a boil on medium heat, then reducing it to low immediately. Hint: you need to work quickly with the balsamic reduction or else it becomes very sticky. I usually wait until there is about 3 minutes left on the oven. Place the rice as a base, then top the tilapia and rice with extra sauce from the pan. Drizzle the reduction over the mushroom caps and sprinkle with fresh basil.

I paired this with the very affordable Fantini Casale Vecchio Montepulciano D’Abruzzo which compliments the tomatoes and mushrooms nicely. Another option for white wine drinkers that would compliment the tilapia would be Lindeman’s Bin 85 Pinot Grigio (the same wine used in the sauce).