Ss. Peter and Paul Fish

History

Saint Peter was a fisherman from Bethsaida. One day when Peter and his brother Andrew were out fishing, Jesus came and called them to be fishers of men. Without reservation, the two dropped their nets, left their homes, and followed Jesus. You can read more about this apostle in our post on Saints Peter and Paul Day. In it, we mention the traditional connection between this holiday and fish.

In one of our favorite cookbooks, A Continual Feast, Evelyn Birge Vitz shares a traditional fish recipe for the Feast of Saint Peter and provides more background about how cultures have celebrated his day through the centuries, including a thoughtful observance of providing fish for the poor.

According to legend, Saint Peter is connected to a specific fish, the “St. Peter Fish” or “John Dory” fish. Above, you see on its side a coin-looking mark that brings to mind the story from Matthew 17. After an encounter with the tax collectors, Jesus sends Peter: “However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.” Supposedly, this is the fish that Peter snagged. Over the years, however, others have called tilapia the “St. Peter Fish” since it is also a freshwater fish common in the Sea of Galilee, where our Lord and Peter went fishing.

St. Peter Day Tilapia Recipe

While Aldi (and every other grocery store) was fresh out of John Dory fish, we decided to go for a classic garlic, butter, and lemon fish recipe with the very accessible tilapia! We love that you can use this recipe for any other white fish, too.

Ingredients

6 small potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

salt, to taste

2 tbsp rosemary 

2-3 tilapia fillets

1 clove of garlic

1/2 lemon, sliced

pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Line one large or two small baking sheets with aluminum foil and preheat oven to broil.
2. Slice potatoes into wedges and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and rosemary.
3. Next, place the fillets on the lined baking sheet. Melt the butter and add the garlic after removing from heat. Drizzle over fillets, and then place the lemon slices on top.
4. Bake at a broil until the tilapia has reached an internal temperature of 145°F, or follow the instructions on packaging. This should take between 5 and 10 minutes. If the potatoes aren’t yet golden brown, remove the fish and bake the wedges at 400°F until the edges become crispy.
5. Remove from oven and serve with your favorite greens; beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts are all delicious options!

Resources:
1. Vitz, Evelyn Birge. A Continual Feast: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Joys of Family and Faith Throughout the Christian Year. Ignatius Press. 1985.

Images:
1. “John Dory, Zeus faber” in Fishes, David Starr Jordan, United States, 1907.