Thursday, July 19, 2012

Fish Tacos with a Tomatillo Salsa

Oh my gosh!  If you had heard the whining, complaining, and proclamations of boycotting dinner as we pulled into the parking lot of the fish market, you would have advised “woman, run for the hills.”  But moms have a unique ability to tune out their kids and I persevered (plus Rex has crackers on the tables in his restaurant and I knew the kids would be distracted for a few minutes.) 

In yesterday’s Dallas Morning News, there was an article on fish tacos in the Arts & Life section.  It reminded me of a recipe that I have used before so this is a compilation of a spicy salsa verde from Bobby Deen and the fish is prepared similarly to So-Cal Tacos.

By the way, the fish tacos earned a big thumbs up even from the kid who threatened not to get out of car at the fish market and from the dad who doesn’t like “fried” food.  I would say success all around and put a mark in the "W" column for the deaf and undeterred mom.

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Happy Anniversary C&C

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Ingredients:
For the fish:
Fish Tacos with a Tomatillo Salsa
1.      1 pound halibut, cut into strips  (other recipes use mahi-mahi or tilapia) 
2.      1/2 cup flour   
3.      2 eggs, beaten  
4.      1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
5.      Oil for frying fish (I used canola)
6.      Corn tortillas
For the tomatillo salsa:
1.      1 1/2 pound tomatillos
2.      1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3.      1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
4.      1/2 cup cilantro leaves
5.      2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
6.      1/4 teaspoon sugar
7.      Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the fish:
Lightly coat each piece of fish with flour. Dip fish into beaten eggs and shake off excess, then dip in panko and make sure each piece is coated with the breadcrumbs. Put in refrigerator which will help firm up the battered fish.

Take fish out of the refrigerator and heat oil. Fry fish until golden brown and internal temperature is 140 F.

To make the tomatillo salsa:
Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Place in a pot of boiling water.  Remove from the water when the tomatillos change colors and soften – 10-20 minutes.

Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, jalapeno peppers and sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To serve:
Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil, sprinkle with a little water to steam and heat in oven at 200 degrees.  This will make tortillas soft and they won’t break as easily.  Once warm, place a piece of fish in the tortilla, top with salsa and guacamole, or your choice of toppings (i.e., cabbage/slaw, cilantro, lime juice, aioli, chipotle crema)

3 comments:

Frankly Ronda said...

Not sure about the whole frying fish thing ... did it smell while cooking?

The Baker's Mann said...

I am with you - I prefer to grill fish because of the lingering smell when cooking indoors and I typically don't fry because of the disposing of oil. But.... Pour a very thin layer of oil in the pan, just enough to coat the panko crumbs and make them crispy. You aren't deep frying for sure. The smell didn't seem too bad. I've made it twice now. The halibut is very mild too. It's tasty - now to try out various toppings.

Frankly Ronda said...

I think you are way more industrious than us! The grilling route sounds great though :)