Southwestern Recipes
San Diego Fish Tacos
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup beer
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (8 ounce) white fish fillets*
- 1 small to medium sweet onion such as Vidalia, 4 to 8 ounces
- 10 sprigs cilantro
- 1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
- 1 small head green cabbage, 12 to 16 ounces
- 1 ripe but firm avocado
- 1 lime
- 1 (12 ounce) jar medium-hot salsa
- 12 flour tortillas, about 8 inches in diameter
Instructions
- Put the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
- Combine the beer, egg, and flour in a medium-size mixing bowl.
- Stir in the mustard, cayenne, salt, and several grindings of black pepper.
- Put 6 pieces of fish into the batter, coat well, and add to the skillet. Cook for 3 minutes, turn the pieces over, and cook for 3 more minutes until golden brown.
- Drain on a paper towel-lined platter.
- Repeat with the remaining 6 pieces. Reduce the heat if needed to prevent burning.
- While the fish cooks, peel and quarter the onion and remove the leaves from the cilantro sprigs.
- Put the onion and cilantro into a food processor and pulse several times, or until coarsely chopped. (Or chop by hand.)
- Add the mayonnaise and yogurt to the processor and pulse just once or twice to combine.
- Put the onion-mayonnaise sauce into a small bowl.
- Halve the cabbage lengthwise and remove the core from each half. Place each half on a cutting surface, flat side down. Cut into thin shreds with a chef's knife. (Or shred using the large holes of a four-sided grater or the grating attachment of a food processor.) You should have about 4 cups.
- Put the cabbage into a small bowl.
- Halve pit and peel the avocados. Cut each half lengthwise into six slices. Lay the slices on a small plate.
- Cut the lime into 4 wedges and put in a small dish.
- Put the salsa into a small bowl with a slotted spoon (so you won't get a lot of liquid in your tacos).
- Bring all the ingredients for the tacos to the table and allow diners to make tacos one at a time as follows: Put a few tablespoons of cabbage in the middle of each tortilla. Top with 1 piece of fish, 1 tablespoon or so of the onion-mayonnaise sauce, 1 tablespoon of the salsa, 2 avocado slices, and a squeeze of lime.
- Fold and eat.
Yield: 12 tacos, 3 per person
Notes
* Fish such as scrod, pollock, snapper, haddock, halibut and catfish, pin bones removed and each fillet cut crosswise into 6 pieces (by the fish monger, if possible)
Attribution
samcooks.com