Tilapia with Roasted Green Beans and Beets

More Symbolic Foods for the Chinese New Year
Fish
Although westerners sometimes balk at the sight of an entire fish lying on a plate, in China a fish served whole is a symbol of prosperity. In fact, at a banquet it is customary to serve the whole fish last, pointed toward the guest of honor. Fish also has symbolic significance because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for riches or abundance, and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the year to come.

Cook's notes: Tilapia is an inexpensive flaky white fish, mild in flavor and pairs beautifully with all sorts of flavors. Fresh tilapia is springy to the touch and smells like the ocean. It is also commonly sold frozen. All tilapia is farm raised. This is a delicious and healthy recipe that takes no time at all to make. You can bake it or even grill it. Tastes great either way.

Ingredients:

•  tilapia fillets
• 1 TB. butter
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 1/4 cup shallots
• fresh lemon juice 
• 1 tsp. parsley flakes
• Old Bay Seasonings  

Directions:

• Rinse fillets and pat dry with a paper towel
• In a small fry pan saute shallots and garlic cloves
• Lay fillets on a large piece of foil and crimp edges
• Sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning

• Place shallots and garlic mixture on top of fillets
• Drizzle with fresh lemon juice
• Sprinkle with parsley flakes
• Lightly crimp edges of foil pack 
• Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until flakes easily with a fork 

Roasted Green Beans with Beets, Feta, and Walnuts

Cook's notes: String green beans symbolize longevity.

To remove the outer skin from beets submerge in boiling water for 1 minute.Remove beets with a slotted spoon from the water and peel skins off.

recipe from BHG
Ingredients

• 1 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1 pound fresh beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into thin wedges
• 1/2 cup sliced shallots (4 medium) or 1/2 red onion
• olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp. thyme
• balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup broken walnuts or sliced almonds
• optional 1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese (2 ounces)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees 
• Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil
• In a bowl combine green beans, beets, thyme and shallots or red onion
• Drizzle with oil,sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat
• Spread beets and green beans out on rimmed tray and drizzle with balsamic vinegar
• Roast, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until beans and beets are tender, stirring once or twice, add walnuts during the last 10 to 15 minutes of roasting time
• To serve, transfer roasted vegetables to a serving platter and sprinkle with cheese