The almond tree is native to a part of the Middle East region that includes parts of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Wild almond fruits are toxic to humans and needs to be processed before ingestion. Domesticated almonds are not toxic, probably because of a genetic mutation that prevents them from producing toxin. Domesticated almonds appear as early as the Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC) when farmers realised that some almond trees produced non-toxic fruit and began to actively cultivate them in their gardens.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic pepper
• 1 cup of ground almonds
• Parmesan cheese (roughly 2 cups when grated)
• 8 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• Salt to taste
• 2 lemons

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix eggs with lemon pepper and garlic pepper in a bowl and set aside.
2. Grate the parmesan cheese.
3. Combine 1 cup of the grated parmesan cheese with almonds in a shallow dish and set aside.
4. Rinse the tilapia fillets well, tap them dry and coat them with all purpose flour. Shake off any excess flour.
5. Dip the flour coated fillets in the seasoned egg mixture, before coating them in the almond and parmesan blend.
6. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Place the tilapia fillets in the skillet and cook until they are golden brown on both sides. This will normally take 2-3 minutes per side.
8. Decrease the heat down to medium and season the fish with salt.
9. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of parmesan cheese over the tilapia.
10. Cover the skillet and cook until the cheese has melted. This will normally take around 5 minutes.
11. Cut the lemon into wedges.
12. Place the tilapia fillets on serving plates and garnish each fillet with lemon wedges.