Fabulous, fresh, fish tacos!
From Susan: I have been on a fish taco kick lately – it’s an easy, light dinner and one of the few ways I can get my teenage son to eat fish. Fish tacos are ubiquitous on the West Coast, but are just beginning to gain in popularity here in the East. There are umpteen ways to prepare them using different kinds of fish, salsas, and other add-ons. Some recipes call for shredded cabbage, others, for lettuce. Some use corn tortillas, others, flour. I like the fish crusted with cornmeal to add flavor and crunch, Ted (who has lived in Southern California and eaten many a fish taco …) prefers his prepared without a coating. The moral of this story is – choose the fresh ingredients you like and the rest is up to you! There is one caveat, firm fish – snapper, catfish, tilapia, swordfish – is a must, flakier fish is too mushy for a good fish taco.
The following recipe is from Emeril Lagasse’s fun new cookbook 20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast. It’s one of the 20 minute meals, so like I did, you can stop at the grocery store on your way home from work and have dinner on the table in a flash. (The cilantro is my addition – can’t imagine any variety of taco without it!)
The fish (tilapia) ready to cook, with the black bean salsa in the background.
This citrus juicer is one of my favorite, low-tech kitchen tools.
Fish Tacos with Black Bean Salsa (serves 4)
One 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup olive oil
1 jalapeno, minced (and seeded, if you prefer, for a milder salsa)
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 lbs. skinless firm fish fillets, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cornmeal
8 6-inch flour tortillas
shredded romaine lettuce
cilantro leaves
lime wedges
sour cream
In a medium bowl, combine the black beans, 1/4 cup olive oil, jalapeno, lime juice, garlic and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Set aside.
Season the fish evenly with the remaining 1 tsp. salt and black pepper. Dredge quickly in the cornmeal, shaking to remove any excess, and set aside.
Heat a 12-inch saute pan over high heat. Toast each of the tortillas for 30 seconds on one side in the hot pan. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with a kitchen towel to keep warm.
In the same pan, heat the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the fish and saute on both sides until just cooked through – about 2 minutes per side. Transfer them to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining fish.
To assemble the tacos, place 2 tortillas on each plate and divide the shredded lettuce among them. Spoon the black been mixture onto the lettuce and divide the fish among the tortillas. Top with the cilantro. Squeeze lime over the tacos and dollop with sour cream. (I leave everything separate and let everyone make their own tacos. The addition of fresh tomato salsa is nice too.)
