Tequila Lime Fish Tacos with Slaw and Chipotle Mayo

I said I was getting my buns back in the kitchen this week and I wasn't kidding.  The posts are already piling up on me and it's only Wednesday morning!  What good news for you right?  Let's just cross our fingers that I don't get distracted from a new recipe and forget about the ones that I've already done...because I tend to do that...often.



When it comes to Fish Tacos...the options are quite literally endless.

Which makes it an incredibly fun dish to play around with.  You can go in any direction your heart desires.  Haddock, Halibut, Tilapia, Salmon, Cod...Fried, Pan Seared, Grilled...The sauces...The toppings...The combinations could go on and on.

And of course everyone has created the *best* fish taco combination EVER.  So, I'm not going to claim that.  Because their are more than a few that I happen to really love.  --Mango and avocado salsa with salmon, Blackened fish with a creamy sauce of sorts, Perfectly grilled halibut with bean salsa and a healthy dose of avocado spread...Once again the list could go on and on.

But there is definitely a key to this recipe that puts it up on the top of my list.  The red cabbage slaw.  This stuff is the bee's knees.  And I don't use that term lightly.  Luckily you're going to end up with a bit more than needed for your tacos.  So please liberally add it to everything you eat until it disappears.  That's what I've been doing.  And it's heavenly.

Even though I'm in love with the slaw, the fish, sriracha mayo, and marinade aren't far behind.  I especially love the use of the marinade.  It always hurts my heart a little to throw a big bag of delicious marinade away.  In this case there is no need to waste.

Ugh.  Is it lunchtime yet?  My stomach is rumbling at the thought of these things.



Adapted from Use Real Butter via Good Fish by Becky Selengut

Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
red cabbage slaw (see below)
tequila lime marinade (see below)
sriracha mayo (see below)
1 lb. flaky white fish, I used Haddock
1 tablespoon high-heat oil
corn or flour tortillas
sliced avocado
extra limes for squeezing

red cabbage slaw:
3/4 lb. red cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 apple, cored and grated
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
3/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt to taste

tequila lime marinade:
1 lime, zest and juice (about 1 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice)
2 tablespoons tequila
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 small jalapenos, halved, seeded, cored, and sliced
1 small red onion, cut into thin half moons
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

sriracha mayo:
1/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Directions:
To make the slaw- Place the red cabbage in a colander and rinse thoroughly with water.  Squeeze all of the liquid out and let sit in the colander while you mix the other ingredients.  In a large bowl mix the grated apple, mustard seeds, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil together.  Give the cabbage another good squeeze and mix in with the rest of the ingredients.  Season the slaw to taste with salt. Set aside.
To make the sriracha mayo- Combine everything in a small bowl and stir with a spoon until combined. Set aside.
To make the marinade- Combine everything in a gallon ziploc bag and mix it all up.
To make the fish- Place the fish in the ziploc bag and seal.  Let the fish sit for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat in a large pan.  Remove the fish from the marinade and place in the pan.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side until the fish is lightly browned and flaky.  Remove the fish to a plate and add the marinade to the pan.  Cook on high heat for 5-7 minutes or until the liquid has bubbled off and the onions and peppers are charred.
To serve- Warm your tortillas (I like to do it over the open flame on my gas stove) and prepare each taco with a bit of fish, sriracha mayo, avocado slices, charred onions and peppers, and the red cabbage slaw.  And don't forget to serve with lime wedges for squeezing on top!

Lobster Reuben

Sorry about the lack of Meal Plan Monday this week.

In order to cut down on throwing out delicious food before leaving for the three week tour adventure, I'm trying to scrape by and eat every last bite of edible food in the apartment.  I feel like the creativity will be rampant come Friday when I only have a few ingredients to make a meal of.  So, we'll see how that goes.



I've been waiting to share this recipe with you for far too long now.

As I mentioned a while back the first experience with a "Lobster Reuben" came in March while visiting my parents in Florida.  As soon as I walked in I noticed that at least half of the people on the patio had a lobster reuben in front of them and I knew immediately A) Must order and B) Must recreate.

So here it is.  It's nothing too crazy.  Just a reuben...with lobster meat.  Could anyone ever be upset by that?  Surely not.

But here's the thing.  There are things you must do to make it something more than just a reuben.  It's all in the perfect ingredients.

So, you should definitely make the russian dressing and find fresh lobster meat if at all possible.  Whip up some homemade rye bread, or if that's too crazy (it was for me at the time) pick some up from your local farmer's market.  And most importantly...homemade sauerkraut...get your hands on some.  Trust me, it makes this sandwich.

And that's it.  A little mixing, a little assembly, some melting/toasting and you have a mouth watering sandwich in front of you.



Makes: 3-4 sandwiches
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3-5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
for the russian dressing-
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons relish (I used delicious homemade zucchini relish)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
to assemble-
1 lb lobster meat (I used claw and knuckle meat)
8 slices rye bread
1-2 slices swiss cheese per sandwich
butter
sauerkraut

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine all of the dressing ingredients.  Stir until combined.  Slowly add dressing to the lobster meat until you have "dressed" the lobster to your preference. (Some people like a tiny bit of dressing...others like to bath in it.  So it's up to you here!)  Set aside.
2. Set oven to broil.
3. Butter and toast slices of bread, top with swiss cheese, dressed lobster, and a small amount of drained sauerkraut.  Place under broiler for several minutes to melt cheese but watch very carefully so you don't burn the bread!

Slow Roasted Salmon with Herbs

Whew.

That was one whirlwind of a week.

And I don't think I could have asked for a better way to end my college years.  My parents were here.  We absolutely feasted on the most delicious food at every meal.  Played an excessive amount of pool.  Had a few celebratory cocktails.  Explored some unknown parts of Boston.  Did a little shopping...

...And of course I graduated!



After the amount of food I consumed over the past week my stomach is telling me that I should not be thinking about delicious food at the moment...

But the mere thought of this salmon makes me salivate.

I realized some time ago that I have never done a salmon post.  And that's ridiculous because I absolutely love salmon and I eat it all the time.

So I'm sorry that this is the first one I've shared...but I promise you it won't disappoint.  The slow roasting.  The slathering of herbs.  The spring salad.  It exceeded my expectations.

And I'd say it will do the same for you.

slow roasted salmon with herbs

Adapted from The Right Recipe

Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes + 30 minutes to bring salmon to room temperature

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
2 lb wild salmon, with the skin on
1 lemon
1/2 cup shallots, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, minced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Remove the salmon from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 250° and place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack.
2. Finely grate the zest of the lemon until you have 1 teaspoon.  Combine the lemon zest, shallots, dill, tarragon, and parsley in a small bowl.  Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil.
3. Place the salmon, skin side down, on a baking sheet and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Smear about 1/3 of the herb mixture on the fish and turn it over.  Slather the skin side of the fist with the remaining herb mixture and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper.
4. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake about 25 minutes or until the salmon separates into flakes.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Seared Swordfish with Gazpacho Salsa, Tomato Vinaigrette, and Lemon-Dill Quinoa

I wonder how long I'm going to talk about how good it feels to be done with school.

Having the ability to get up in the morning, go to a pilates class, come home, have breakfast, read a book, and then make my way into the kitchen to play...is still blowing my mind. (And I'm completely aware that I have to grow up very very very soon...but shhh let's not ruin it quite yet.  I'm enjoying myself.)

And this free time means that dinner around here has gotten a whole lot tastier.  And thank goodness.  I was pretty well over my go-to steamed vegetable/rice/tofu bowls.  I love "bowl" dinners but I had had one too many this semester.

So now it's on to things like this.



Which had me swooning at the title.

Seared Swordfish with Gazpacho Salsa, Tomato Vinaigrette, and Lemon-Dill Quinoa.



Uhhhhh.....okay.  I'm in.

If you haven't noticed already, I've been a bit obsessed with the Smitten Kitchen cookbook lately.  I have followed her blog for years now and occasionally make delicious things from it but there is something about this cookbook that I can't get away from.  Every time I walk over to my cookbook collection to pull one out I feel as though the others are staring at me in contempt because I've been ignoring them for weeks now.  I should pull another one out...but Smitten Kitchen treats me so well...

Anyway.  This meal.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in Boston for the last week or so meaning that I'm dying for Spring/Summer meals.  And this one is it.  Fish. Gazpacho. Tomatoes.  Lemon-Dill Anything.  While I was jumping for joy about the fresh veggies and overall healthiness of the meal, I was a little worried that the men around wouldn't be all that excited about it.  But I was completely wrong.  They gobbled it up and asked for more.

So veggie lover or not, I bet that you'll love this.



Partially adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
quinoa-
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 tablespoons fresh dill
juice from 1/2 lemon

tomato vinaigrette-
1 medium tomato, peeled (if desired), seeded, and chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

fish-
four (6-8 ounce) swordfish fillets, or other flaky white fish
olive oil to coat pan
salt
freshly ground black pepper

salsa-
2 large beefsteak or 4 medium Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
1/2 English cucumber diced
2 bell peppers, diced
1/2 small sweet onion, diced
juice from 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. For the quinoa- In a medium pot, combine 2 cups vegetable stock and quinoa.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Once a simmer is reached, reduce heat and cover.  Cook 15-18 minutes until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is light and fluffy.  When done fluff with a fork and add chopped dill and lemon juice.  Set aside.
2. For the vinaigrette- In a blender or food processor, puree the tomato until smooth.  Add red wine vinegar.  With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil slowly in a very thin stream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. For the fish- Bring the swordfish fillets to room temperature.  Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Once the pan is hot, coat it evenly with olive oil.  Once oil is hot, lay fish in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the fish is golden underneath but not sticking to the pan.  Carefully flip the fillets.  Cook for a few more minutes, until a fork cuts through easily and the meat is opaque white and flaky.
4. For the gazpacho salsa- Toss salsa ingredients in a bowl and add lemon juice.
5. To assemble- Spoon quinoa onto the plate and top with salsa.  Add swordfish fillet and drizzle with tomato vinaigrette.  Sprinkle with additional dill and serve with extra vinaigrette on the side.