Finding Nemo in Your Taco

Unless you live in the southwest or in California, fish is probably not the first ingredient that comes to your mind when you think of tacos. But the ground beef version that you pick up a local fast food joint, or make at home could hardly be considered the original version of a taco.

Taco at its basic form, basically means sandwich. And just like a sandwich, it can have a myriad of fillings. Most of us would probably shy away from some of the early filling goodness that could include ants, locusts and snails, although Andrew Zimmerman would probably throw down on Bizarre Foods with these types of ingredients.

So if you want to skip the insects, but need (or want) to cut down on your fat intake, fish tacos might just fit the menu. The city of Ensenada, Mexico claim to be the originators of this culinary delight, and the people of the coastal areas of Mexico have probably been eating fish tacos for a few thousand years.

Last summer I came across a recipe on www.epicurious.com that looked tasty, yet slightly challenging since my experience with doing any cooking with fish was limited. Unlike many fish taco recipes, this calls for grilling the fish instead of frying, so we get another health bonus. I would mark it medium on the labor intensive scale, but that is mainly due to the grilling and cooking of the home-made tomatillo salsa, which you could probably forego for the store-bought type. However I suggest making as much of the ingredients from scratch, as you will find yourself well rewarded with the finished product. Add to this, the tasty beverage of homemade white Sangria (I will include this recipe later) and you have got yourself a very satisfying summer afternoon.

I would suggest splitting up the preparation of this recipe, by making the Salsa Verde (tomatillo salsa) and the lime mayonnaise a day ahead to let the flavors meld together. In addition, this recipe allows for alot of your own interpretation depending on your tastes. I used tilapia, but you could really use any whitefish that is to your liking, and you can increase the color of your presentation by doing a mix of both red and green shredded cabbage. I also put a layer of tinfoil over my grill to prevent losing any fish bits, onions and all that other marinade goodness. Good luck and enjoy!

Ingredients

•2 cups chopped white onion, divided
•3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
•1/4 cup olive oil
•5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
•3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
•1 pound tilapia, striped bass, or sturgeon fillets
•Coarse kosher salt
•1 cup mayonnaise
•1 tablespoon milk
•Corn tortillas
•2 avocados, peeled, pitted, sliced
•1/2 small head of cabbage, cored, thinly sliced

Preparation

Stir 1 cup onion, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil, 3 tablespoons lime juice, orange juice, garlic, and oregano in medium bowl. Sprinkle fish with coarse salt and pepper. Spread half of onion mixture over bottom of 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange fish atop onion mixture. Spoon remaining onion mixture over fish. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Turn fish; cover and chill 30 minutes longer. Whisk mayonnaise, milk, and remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice in small bowl.

Brush grill grate with oil; prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill fish with some marinade still clinging until just opaque in center, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Grill tortillas until slightly charred, about 10 seconds per side.

Coarsely chop fish; place on platter. Serve with lime mayonnaise, tortillas, remaining 1 cup chopped onion, remaining 1/2 cup cilantro, avocados, cabbage, Salsa Verde, and lime wedges.

Recipe for the Salsa Verde

Ingredients


•3 unpeeled garlic cloves
•1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked, rinsed
•1 small onion, quartered through root end
•3 to 6 serrano chiles or 2 to 4 jalapeño chiles
•1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
•1/2 teaspoon (or more) sugar
•Coarse kosher salt
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•1 cup low-salt chicken broth
•2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lime juice

Preparation


Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Thread garlic onto skewer. Grill garlic, tomatillos, onion quarters, and chiles until dark brown spots form on all sides, about 9 minutes for onion, 6 minutes for tomatillos and chiles, and 4 minutes for garlic. Cool. Peel garlic. Trim core from onion. Scrape some of burnt skin off chiles; stem. Seed chiles for milder salsa, if desired. Coarsely chop onion, chiles, and garlic. Transfer tomatillos and all vegetables to blender. Add cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon sugar; puree until smooth. Season to taste with coarse salt.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Carefully add tomatillo mixture (juices may splatter). Stir until slightly thickened, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add broth and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture measures 2 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and more sugar and lime juice, if desired.