Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Andrew. Daniel whipped up this fabulous meal of Tahini Tilapia for our celebration of St. Andrew (a fisherman) a couple of years ago and it’s still a staple at our house. And since November 30th is on a Friday this year, how handy that it’s fish for us Catholics, right?
The following is drawn from a post on Feast!, our woefully neglected Christian Year blog, that my husband Daniel posted in 2010. I’m more than a little embarrassed at how bad our photography was back then but…here ’tis:
Fisherman, brother of Simon Peter, friend and apostle of Christ, evangelist, and martyr. Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist and, according to John the Evangelist, was the first disciple called by Christ. After Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, St. Andrew went out to preach the Gospel. He travelled as far north as the Black Sea (which is why he is patron saint of Russia and the Ukraine) but was finally martyred in Achaea, Greece. Ancient sources say Andrew was bound, not nailed, to a cross. Iconography from the middle ages shows his cross to be raised in the shape of an X, hence the familiar “St. Andrew’s Cross” on the Scottish flag.
For today’s feast we made fish in remembrance of St. Andrew’s first profession. I don’t know exactly what kind of fish Andrew would have caught. But I read that tilapia are still caught in the Sea of Galilee and they’re an easy fish to find at the grocery store so we went with that. Then I found this Middle Eastern recipe for fish with tahini sauce and adjusted the proportions. Here are the ingredients for the sauce:
We also had couscous and sautéed greens from our garden. Spinach, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, and parsley.
Here’s the final product.
O glorious St. Andrew, you were the first to recognize and follow the Lamb of God. With your friend, St. John, you remained with Jesus for that first day, for your entire life, and now throughout eternity. As you led your brother, St. Peter, to Christ and many others after him, draw us also to Him. Teach us to lead others to Christ solely out of love for Him and dedication in His service. Help us to learn the lesson of the Cross and to carry our daily crosses without complaint so that they may carry us to Jesus. Amen.
We haven’t done St. Andrew before, but maybe we will this year. I’m always up for a reason to have fish and bake something tasty for dessert!
I have tilapia on the menu for tomorrow as well! I like that tilapia is less ‘fishy’ so the kids enjoy it. Last year we made X-shaped pretzels. If I can get to the store, I may pick up some fish crackers so they can “go fishing” with some celery sticks and peanut butter 🙂 Oh, and got to remember to start the St. Andrew novena!
Love your ideas, Mary!