By Melissa Phy  / For the Love of Food

Fall has finally presented itself in San Diego (high of 66? Brrr!) and pomegranates were a welcome addition to my kitchen this week. Unfortunately, they were just used to make a salad prettier. Bacon and edamame are the ingredients that really shine in this week’s dish.

Fish is a great protein, but it can leave something to be desired, especially if the fish is mild, like tilapia. About a year ago, I wanted to make fish, but wanted to pair bacon with it, to enhance flavor (read: salt factor) and because, really, who can argue with bacon on the plate?

I came up with a succotash that’s super simple: onions, corn, bacon and, for added protein (ahem, and color), edamame. The result was a beautiful thing. It’s my favorite “side dish” with white fish and super easy to throw together. Plus, you can keep most of the ingredients on-hand.

Because the fish and succotash are so salty, I wanted to pair the dish with a bright salad. Enter: pomegranate seeds. They’re almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

I threw in some goat cheese for creaminess and sweet orange pepper for added crunch and color. Forgive the photos… they were taken hastily in artificial light. I blame late-night hunger.

Tilapia with Bacon-Edamame Succotash

Serves 4

Necessities

• Four tilapia filets
• Seafood seasoning, to taste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup frozen, shelled edamame
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 6 strips bacon, sliced into inch pieces
• 1 small yellow or sweet onion, diced
• Dash of cayenne
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Any other seasonings you’d like (I used an all-seasoning and some seasoned salt)

The How-To

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Season the filets with the seafood rub.
2. Meanwhile, cook the sliced bacon in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Leave the grease in the pan. (If this is too much for your heart to handle, dump the grease and add in a drizzle of EVOO.)
3. Add the diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the frozen corn and edamame to the pan and give a quick stir. Add your spices, stir again.
5. Meanwhile, in a baking dish, add the filets and 1/4 cup of water. Cover tightly with tinfoil and add the dish to the heated oven. Let cook for about 20 minutes, or until flaky, but moist.
6. Continue to stir the succotash mixture as the fish cooks, letting it go the full 20-30 minutes while the fish is in the oven. This will allow for nice caramelization and color to all the ingredients.
7. Once the fish is done, remove form the oven and plate it, piling up the succotash next to it and sprinkle the cooked bacon on top (Adding the bacon at the end allows it to stay crisp).
8. Shovel unattractive amounts into your mouth at a time. Everyone will be too busy doing the same thing to notice.

Pomegranate-Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 4

Gather Them Up

• 5-oz spring mix salad
• 2-oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 6 small sweet orange peppers, diced
• 4 Tbps. pomegrate seeds
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. grainy mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Throw Them Together

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the EVOO, balsamic vinegar, grainy mustard and salt and pepper until well-combined
2. Evenly distribute the spring mix on four plates and top with the goat cheese, peppers and pomegranate seeds
3. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing and serve

Tips and Variations

• Don’t know how to de-seed a pomegranate? Check out my how-to here.
• Substitute two shallots for the onion in the succotash.
• Try it out with halibut or cod.
• Pair the meal with some cous-cous or rice.
• Try out your non-stick pan and fish spatula and fry the fish on the stove-top.
• Add some roasted pecans to your salad