Tilapia Florentine Foil Packets

May. The air is warm and heavy with something blooming and the evenings are long enough now that by the time I drive home from work there is still light in the sky and I have started sitting on my apartment steps with a glass of iced tea for twenty minutes before I go inside, which is my version of decompression.

Tyler and I have been talking every day now. He calls in the evenings, usually around eight, and we talk for an hour or more. He asks about my day and actually wants to know the answer, not performatively but genuinely, which means he asks follow-up questions about the specific children and the specific things that happened and he remembers what I told him the day before. That attentiveness is something I do not take for granted.

I made a shrimp and grits for him on Saturday: he came to Prattville and I cooked at my apartment for the first time for someone I was seeing, which felt like a different kind of threshold than coffee or a restaurant. I was nervous in a way I had not been since the early daycare days, that specific nervousness of doing something real in front of someone whose opinion matters. The shrimp and grits were excellent. He ate every bite and said I need to be very clear that this is the best thing I have eaten this year. He said it with the attentiveness he brings to everything. I said thank you. He said thank your grandmother for the recipe. I said she is not technically my grandmother. He looked at me and said she sounds like one. I said yes. She is.

The shrimp and grits got all the attention that Saturday, and rightfully so — but tucked in the same handwritten collection where I found that recipe is this one, the Tilapia Florentine Foil Packets I have been making quietly for myself on ordinary weeknights when I want something that feels considered without being complicated. It is the kind of recipe that taught me, before Tyler ever walked through my door, that cooking intentionally for yourself is good practice for cooking intentionally for someone else. Now that the threshold has been crossed and I know what it feels like to have someone eat something I made and mean it when they say it is wonderful, I want to share both recipes — the showstopper and the steady one that got me ready for it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 tilapia fillets (about 6 oz each)
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut four large sheets of aluminum foil, each about 12 by 16 inches.
Build the base. Place each sheet of foil on a flat surface. Drizzle a little olive oil in the center of each sheet, then pile 1 cup of baby spinach on top. The spinach will wilt down as it cooks, so don’t worry if it looks like a lot.
Add the fish. Lay one tilapia fillet directly on top of each spinach mound. Season each fillet generously with salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Top and finish. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and minced garlic evenly over each fillet. Lay two or three lemon slices on top. Divide the butter pieces among the four packets and drizzle the remaining olive oil over each. Add red pepper flakes if using.
Seal the packets. Bring the long sides of the foil up and fold them together twice to seal. Fold in the short ends tightly so no steam can escape. Place the packets on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Bake. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily when you open a packet and press it gently with a fork. Thicker fillets may need the full 20 minutes.
Serve. Carefully open each packet away from you — the steam is hot. Slide the contents onto plates or serve directly in the foil. Spoon the buttery pan juices over the top and finish with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Tilapia Florentine Foil Packets — The Recipe That Taught Me Cooking for Someone Is an Act of Trust