Here in the Midwest, its hard to get good quality fish without maxing out your credit card.  But I got lucky and found a brand called Wholey that sells individually frozen boneless Tilapia fillets for a reasonable price, around $4/lb.  Not bad for fish ready to go in the pan, or in this case, on the grill.

I also found recipes for a cherry salsa to serve on the fillet.  Problem is Bing cherries aren’t in season yet. As fate would have it, I have a neighbor who has a cherry tree, sour cherries.  He never picks them (planted by a previous owner) and doesn’t care if I do.  I decided to see what I could do with them, a small culinary adventure.  I checked the tree and the cherries were ready to go. (Fortune smiled on my dinner plans, YES!)  It had been a while since I picked cherries, but I quickly had a small bowlful, which is all I needed.  The rest will go to the birds and squirrels.

To make the salsa you’ll need:

2 cups sour cherries, pitted

1/3 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup red onion, fine dice

1/2  cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbs sweet and hot jalapeno slices, or 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and sliced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbs lime juice

After  pitting cherries, place in a colander and allow to drain for 15 minutes.  Then add them to your processor along with the remaining ingredients.  Pulse several times to break up the cherries into small pieces, but leave mixture chunky.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  (Amount of sugar my vary with the sourness or your cherries).  Pour into a small bowl and set aside to allow flavors to blend.

NOTE:  As the season progresses, you can use bing cherries, or any stone fruit you like, just adjust the sugar or leave it out. Hmmmm-peach salsa!

For the main course you’ll need:

Four tilapia fillets, fresh or thawed

light olive oil or grapeseed oil, as needed

salt and fresh ground pepper

ground coriander

Rinse and pat dry fillets.  Apply a thin coat of oil and then generously season with salt, pepper and coriander.  Place fillets in a  grilling basket sprayed with non stick cooking spray.  Grill at 400F for 4-5 minutes on each side.

Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve fillet with salsa on top.

We had grilled corn and a salad with it.  Enjoy!

NOTE: I used the last of my salsa to make a savory version of my Shredded wheat muffin, my favorite so far.