Cajun Tilapia Soup with Polenta
- Total Time: 3 hours 2 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This is a full meal soup with a range of textures and flavors that makes a great dinner party centerpiece.
Ingredients
- 1 Big red tomato, blanched
- 3 smaller red tomatoes, blanched
- 1 medium size yellow tomato, blanched
- 1 small/medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 big garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 6 tsp (30 ml) of olive oil
- 3 cups (720 ml) of fish broth
- 2 cups (480 ml) of white potato cubes
- 1 jalapeno pepper, cut in small pieces
- 2 1/4 tbsp (34 ml) of finely chopped fresh coriander
- 2 branches of fresh silver thyme
- 1/4 tsp of hot Hungarian paprika
- 6 tsp (30 ml) of lime juice
- 5 small Tilapia Fillet
- 3-4 tbsp (45-60 ml) of my homemade cajun spice blend
For the polenta:
- polenta
- fish broth
For the garnish:
- small and thin avocado slices
- 4 small branches of silver thyme
- 4 tsp of 0% fat Greek yogurt
Instructions
- The day before or a few hours before, rub your Tilapia fillets with the cajun spices. Place them back in the fridge and wait an hour or two for the fish to absorb a bit of the taste. Grill your fillets in a flat bottom pan with 2 tsp of olive oil once you’re ready. Put them right back in the fridge till it’s time to start your soup.
- For the soup, bring to the stove top a big stainless steel flat bottom pan and open your heat to medium/high. Add 3 tsp of the remaining olive oil and start grilling the yellow onion, jalapenos peppers and chopped garlic for 2-3 minutes. During that time, cut your previously blanched tomatoes in cubes before adding them to the pan.
- Add your fish broth, the freshly chopped coriander and lower your heat to medium/low, let it simmer covered for 5 minutes while stirring a few times.
- Bring the content of your pan in a blender and liquify it. Pour it back in the pan, add your white potato cubes, 2 branches of thyme, the hot Hungarian paprika, lime juice and shred (in small pieces) 1 small tilapia fillet from the fridge. Cover it and let it gently simmer for 1h while stirring once in a while and lowering the heat if you find that it’s simmering too hard.
- After one hour, cut your remaining 4 filet in half and add the ticker part of each fillets in the soup, cover it again and let it simmer for an extra 30 minutes. You may flip your big fillet pieces half way.
- At the last minute grill your polenta rectangles both sides in another pan with 1 tsp of olive oil. Reserve.
- Set up 4 wide soup bowls, start adding your soup (juice and potatoes only) at the bottom, place the polenta in the middle of the liquid and 1 piece of filet on top of it. Then add 1 tsp of Greek yogurt in each plates, on top of the filet (this is going to add a great taste and help the avocado slices hold in place, then add your sliced avocados!
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 2 mins
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350
If You Liked This Recipe, You’ll Love These
- Crispy Fish Tacos with Avocado Sauce and Cilantro Slaw
- Spicy Cod Tacos with Avocado Crema
- Hearty Potato and Seafood Stew
- Alabama Bouillabaisse by Chef Chris Hastings
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the tilapia fillets rubbed with Cajun spice and refrigerated before the soup even starts?
The recipe calls for rubbing the 5 tilapia fillets with Cajun spice blend and refrigerating them for 1–2 hours (or ideally overnight) before grilling. This dry marinade period lets the spices penetrate the flesh deeply rather than just coating the surface — then the fillets are grilled in 2 tsp olive oil and returned to the fridge until they’re added to the soup in stages.
Why is one tilapia fillet shredded into the soup while the other four go in whole?
One small fillet is shredded into small pieces directly into the soup base to infuse Cajun-spiced fish flavor throughout the broth during the first hour of simmering. The remaining 4 fillets are cut in half and added in the final 30 minutes so they hold their shape and provide distinct pieces of fish in each serving bowl.
What is the role of the Greek yogurt in the final plating?
The recipe places 1 tsp of 0% fat Greek yogurt on top of each fillet piece in the bowl, explaining that it “adds a great taste and helps the avocado slices hold in place.” It functions as both a cooling counterpoint to the spiced soup and an adhesive layer that keeps the thin avocado slices from sliding off. 
