Cajun Tilapia with Mango Chutney

Lately I have been trying to step out of my comfort zone in the kitchen and actually cook.  It's been a slow process, but I'm getting there.  Recently, Brian and I were attempting to decide what to eat for dinner for the upcoming week (which happens to be this week).  We came up with a few ideas and were about to settle when I thought "Fish!  I want to eat fish." So we went to the counter to check out our options.  The salmon looked great, but at $12 a pound, I don't think so.  The cod was worse!  It was something outrageous like $22 a pound.  OK, I may be exaggerating a little, but it was expensive.  So we settled for the tilapia, which is good because we both like it.  We continued to wander through the grocery store when I came up with the idea of doing a Mango Chutney.  Had I ever made a chutney before? No.  Had I ever worked with mango before? No.  So I was in for an adventure.  Brian and I didn't even know what was in a chutney.  Thank goodness for the Blackberry.  We had to look it up.
When we got home we had our dinner for that day (Sunday) planned out:  tilapia covered with a mango chutney, with a side of onion risotto.  YUM!  The first thing I did was work on the chutney.  I adapted my recipe from an Alton Brown recipe because it seemed easy enough.  To make the chutney I used:

1 ripe Mango
1 small red pepper
1/2 of a medium onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A dash of chili flakes
1 teaspoon of ground ginger (if you have fresh ginger use it!)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup of orange juice (you can use more to get the consistency you want)

Steps to creating an awesome chutney for 2:
1- Cut up the mango into small cubes.  I would say the size of a pencil eraser.  Follow suit with the red pepper and onion.

2- Place on low heat a small sauce pan with the olive oil.
3- Add the chili flakes to infuse the olive oil, about 30 seconds to a minute.  Don't let the chili flakes burn.  It's OK if you do, it just creates a burnt smell.
4- Add the diced mango, pepper and onion.  Stir.
5- Sprinkle the ginger on top.  Stir.  Add the vinegar and juice. Stir.

6- Lower the heat under the sauce pan so that it is as low as it can go without turning off.  Allow the chutney to sit without a lid so it can thicken.
7- Stir occasionally for about 10-15 minutes or until chutney has reached a "thick" consistency.  Then pour over the fish.

Now, Brian handled the fish (the creative master that he is).  In a 13 x 9 greased pan, he placed the fish side-by-side and rubbed Cajun seasoning, paprika and freshly squeezed lime juice on top.  He flipped the fish over and repeated.  Before the fish went into a 350 degree oven, he sprinkled a little bit of leftover mango on top.  He baked the fish for 10 minutes until it began to flake (by use of a fork meaning the fish was light and cooked through).  You will have to watch the fish carefully because the thickness of the fish will determine how long to cook it.  Ours was thin, so it didn't take very long.

When everything was finished, we plated the fish, spooned the chutney on top and added the side of awesome risotto.  It was one of the best dishes we have ever made together.  Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great.  For the first time making chutney it turned out pretty well.

Have fun recreating and as always, Enjoy!