Recipe Links ?/TD> Rain Forest Tilapia with Braised Endive, Fava Beans and Veal Stock Reduction ?/TD> Tilapia in Parmesan Herb Crust ?/TD> Costa Rican Tilapia "Piccata" with Spinach ?/TD> Mediterranean Tilapia

You first spotted it on a restaurant menu paired with spinach ragout or a raspberry-infused sauce. Then you noticed it on sale at the grocery store.

You've toyed with trying tilapia for months and now, faced with six weeks of Lent, you've decided to finally jump in and buy it. You just have to figure out what to do with it.

But before you toss it in a pan or in the oven, let's learn a little bit about where tilapia comes from.

Tilapia, a fish originally from Africa and the Middle East, has been around for centuries. Some even call it St. Peter's fish, believing it's the fish the apostles used to feed the multitudes.

In the 1960s and '70s, Peace Corps workers set up simple aquaculture systems in developing countries to help feed hungry people, says Kevin Fitzsimmons, professor of agriculture at the University of Arizona and a member of the American Tilapia Association.

The fish, a herbivore, was first brought into Arizona in the 1980s to maintain irrigation canals, and by the mid '80s the fish was being bred for culinary uses.

"Domestically grown tilapia began appearing in Asian restaurants and grocery stores in the late 1980s," Fitzsimmons says. "Fresh and frozen fillets began appearing in the mid-1990s."

Tilapia is a farm-raised fish, putting it on the safe side of the sustainable aquaculture spectrum (sea bass and swordfish, for example, are on the "avoid" side), and because it doesn't eat other fish, you won't find high levels of mercury or PCBs that keep people away from other fish like salmon and tuna.

Those health issues, and the fact that it contains a fair amount of good-for-you omega-3 fatty acids (90 mg in a 4-ounce fillet), have drawn more people toward tilapia.

Fillets, generally sold in 4- to 8-ounce portions, sell for between $3.87 a pound at warehouse stores to $8.99 at grocery stores. If you're up to skinning the fish yourself, you can find tilapia for 99 cents a pound.

"Tilapia is a great fish. It has a mild taste and a long shelf-life," says chef J. Andrew Coates of the Ivanhoe Country Club near Mundelein. "You can broil it; it's excellent sautéed.

"It has a very sturdy flesh; you can even put it on the grill without it falling apart," he says.

The mild taste attracts a lot of people, says chef Patrick McLaughlin of Parker's Ocean Grill in Downers Grove.

"People say, 'I know I've got to eat more fish, but where do I start?' This is a good place," McLaughlin says. "Any application you can do with chicken you can do with tilapia."

Fitzsimmons figures he's tried tilapia hundreds of ways.

His favorite home preparations calls for drizzling the fillets with some chopped scallions and grated parmesan, then wrapping it in foil and baking it for 10 minutes at about 350 degrees. He also likes it sautéed in olive oil or butter and garnished with sesame seeds.

Another quick idea calls for dredging the fillets in seasoned flour, or not, and sautéing them in a thin layer of hot oil over medium-high heat. Toss in a few herbs and dinner is served.

Chefs like tilapia because the mild flavor and quick prep time allow them be creative with the other parts of the plate.

"Tilapia is good with sweet or savory sauces," Coates says. "It can hold up to a strong mushroom and spinach ragout, or you can grill it with a sweet nectarine cream sauce."

McLaughlin likes it blackened and grilled with a light tomato sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. He's an advocate of baking fillets with a little white wine or your favorite store-bought marinade. I particularly liked tilapia topped with Ginger Cream Sauce from Here's to the Cook, an Elk Grove Village-based company that creates gourmet sauces and toppings.

When shopping for fresh tilapia, look for fish that has a nice pinkish-hue; fish that's starting to gray has gone bad. When buying frozen - fish that has essentially been flash-frozen within minutes of being pulled from the water - beware of crystallization, Coates warns. That means the fish had thawed and been refrozen.

Use fresh fillets within days of purchase or frozen fillets within a month for best flavor.

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