friday night tacos, round 2

I can say without any hesitation that tacos are one of the greatest food items ever made. With about one trillion combinations, how could you not love at least one kind of taco? I might even go out on a limb here and tell you that tacos might be one of my favorite foods ever. There is something very appealing about a simple flour or corn tortilla wrapped around a plethora of ingredients that tastes totally awesome. Plus, there is always that fun game I play when building my taco to see just how much I can fit. I love that game, although usually I lose and end up eating my taco with a fork. That is a little embarrassing.

Hopefully, most of you are familiar with the crispy black bean tacos I wrote about last year. They really are close to perfect, but when temperatures reached triple digits, I started craving something lighter and less ahem…fried. I wanted something grilled with fresh salsa, avocado and corn. Voila! A new Friday night taco was born.

This taco is of the fish variety, and I was always a little afraid of fish tacos – for no reason really. They just freaked me out – like maybe everything would taste like fish and none of the other flavors would stand out.  Plus, I’ve always equated tacos with being cheap and easy, and I never want my fish cheap and easy…to me that was teetering too close to the edge of the danger zone. I wanted so badly to jump on the fish taco bandwagon, but I never had the guts…until now.

Despite my aversion to fish tacos, I love seafood, especially in the summer. It’s so light and refreshing and it’s great on the grill, so you don’t have to worry about sending your A/C into overdrive whipping up dinner. For these tacos I highly recommend Ling Cod. It’s a delicate white fish that takes to tacos really well plus it’s inexpensive and sustainably fished. Halibut or Pacific Cod also work well.

The instructions couldn’t be easier, which makes it perfect for a Friday night. First you make the slaw topping, then the salsa, crumble the queso fresco, chop up an avocado and your 90% there. Now season the fish with cumin and garlic salt…don’t try to get fancy and use fresh garlic and salt. I mean it. This is not up for debate. 🙂 Now put it on the grill and let it cook. Most fish like the ones I mentioned above need about 4 minutes per side depending on their thickness, but that it a great starting point.

Once the fish is done, fork it into flakes and start piling your tacos high with your toppings, crack open a cold beer and let your weekend begin!

Cole Slaw Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

Makes about 4-6 tacos, Prep time: 15 Minutes, Cook Time: 10 Minutes

For the Fish:

1 large filet of Ling Cod or Pacific Halibut

Cumin & Garlic Salt – no need to measure, give the fish a nice dose of each

–       Pat the fish dry with paper towels; sprinkle both sides generously with the cumin and not as generously with the garlic salt.

–       Fire up the grill to medium and let the fish cook for about 4 minutes each side or until the fish flakes apart easily with a fork

Salsa:

4 Medium Tomatoes

1/2 white onion

Handful of cilantro

Juice of one lime

One chopped Serrano Pepper – leave the seeds in for extra heat

Sea Salt

–       Chop everything up and mix with a spoon. Feel free to use a blender or food processor if that it easier for you.

Slaw Topping:

2 ears of fresh corn, corns shucked

1/4 of a head of Green Cabbage, finely sliced

1 Green Onion

Handful of Cilantro, chopped

Juice of one lime

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt to taste

– Mix everything in a bowl and dress with the lime, olive oil and salt

Queso Fresco:

–       Buy it, open the package and crumble it on a plate.

Avocado:

– Cubed