FISH TACOS (TOSTADA)

I learned recently that the correct term for the diet we have is 'pescatarian'. We are vegetarian other than that we eat fish once a week. Actually, other than that, we are mostly vegan. I do eat an occasional egg and maybe some cheese, but Richard is pretty strict about not eating any dairy or animal products other than the occasional fish dish. 

I don't remember when we first tried fish tacos. Since we all like fish, I thought it was worth a try. These are very easy to make. The first step is to get the fish in the over to bake. I buy frozen filet, put them in the oven frozen, and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. Just watch them so they don't get too brown or they will be dry and not very enjoyable! I use tilapia because it's a mild fish and stays together well for the tacos. (I guess since we use flat tortillas rather than folded they are technically tostadas.) You can prepare you fish how ever you like, but what I usually do is to drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the fish and spread it over both sides with a pastry brush, add a little S&P, and sprinkle with a small amount of dried bread crumbs which gives the top of the fish a little crust.

 

 



While the fish is baking, I thinly slice cabbage for the slaw. I like to use both green and purple for color but use what you have on hand. I add some chopped onion to this. The dressing is citrus. I squeeze some lime juice on it, add a very small amount of vegannaise (vegan mayo), some S&P, and if it still needs a little kick, you can add some white rice vinegar. This is all by taste...just add a small amount of the ingredients at a time until it pleases you!

Last comes the mango chutney. I just dice up two mangos, add a small amount of finely chopped onion and about 2 Tbsp of fresh cilantro choped, and a tiny squeeze of lime juice. 

For the three of us (which made about 10 tacos-Cole eats a lot) I used 3 avocados. They were mashed in a bowl with 3 cloves of garlic that were grated finely, S&P to taste and that's it! I used white corn tortillas and we fried them in a small amount of oil until crisp and drained on a paper towel. 

To assemble, put a layer of guacamole/avocado on the tortilla, then the fish- just break it up a little, followed by the slaw and lastly the mango. There is really no recipe I use, it's a lot of tasting until it suits you! I hope you will give it a try!

LEMON LOVE

It's hard having my brother and his family live on the other side of the country, until the the middle of winter when it's freezing cold here in Ohio and a package of fresh citrus arrives from his trees. Lemons, grapefruit, oranges, and pomagranate that are fresh, juicy, and so sweet! It would be hard to choose a favorite but the lemons are like nothing we can get in the stores here. They are just delicious! I like using lemons in my cooking and many times we use it as dressing on our salads so we make good use of that box of fruit!

I looked for some new recipes using lemon to make use of the many lemons he sent. Our dinner tonight featured these new recipes. We had almond lemon encrusted salmon, lemon risoto, and lemony kale. It was an amazing dinner! We have salmon usually several times a month and I'm going to be repeating this recipe. The topping was crunchy and lemony, yet the lemon did not overpower the salmon, but left the fish moist inside and crunchy on top, and it was served on a bed of sauteed garlic, lemon kale.  The only other difference in the risotto was that it had the zest of one lemon and the juice of 1 1/2 lemons, with some chopped flat leaf parsley thrown in at the end. There was a lot of lemon flavor, but it wasn't too much and we all agreed that it was a delicous meal.

This recipe for the fish topping would be great on any type of fish and it's very easy to make.

Lemon Almond Encrusted Salmon

zest of 1 lemon (be sure to use organic)
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1/2 c. slightly chopped sliced almonds
1 Tbs. fresh dill chopped
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Spread your favorite mustard over the top of the fish filet.
After mixing the topping ingredients together, press into the mustard topping and bake.
Baking times will vary by the size of your fish. I baked it in a 400 degree oven.

For some reason I'm having trouble getting the picture to upload. I'll try again later!