Recipes Discovered

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream Recipe

Every since I had my first fish taco at Wahoo’s a few years ago, I have been addicted to them. I don’t know why I like them so much, but there is just something about the flavor of the fish with the Mexican flare that I love. I’ve had a lot of varieties, but when I make them at home, this is my favorite recipe.

For the Chipotle Cream sauce, I mix together yogurt, mayonnaise and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I usually drain the yogurt for a couple hours if I remember. Just put the yogurt in a paper towel and put it over a bowl in the refrigerator. It makes the sauce a little thicker. Chipotle peppers are smoked japepeno peppers and the adobo sauce is just a tomato based sauce with some seasonings. They are hot, but the yogurt really mellows them out, so don’t be afraid to make this. Just be careful when chopping the peppers (don’t touch your eyes).

For the fish, I mix olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper with the fish (I usually use tilapia). I let it marinate about 20 minutes before I grill it over medium heat for a couple minutes on each side, just until it flakes with a fork. Then I cut the fish into large chunks and put it on a serving platter along with shredded cabbage (or somtimes lettuce), corn, lime wedges, and warmed tortillas. Seth liked his tacos with refried beans, so I usually make them as a side dish. For my taco, I top a tortilla with fish, chipotle cream, corn and cabbage and then squeeze lime juice over the whole thing. The taste is pure magic.

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia Recipe

I saw this recipe as part of a spa menu a couple weeks ago, and it sounded so good, I had to try it. The crust for the fish is made from whole wheat bread and pecans that I ground in the blender. I mixed the crumbs with some parsley and a little bit of salt on a plate. On another plate, I mixed flour, paprika, and garlic powder and in a bowl, I mixed an egg yolk with some milk. This may seem like a lot of work (it does dirty a lot of dishes), but I think it was worth it. I put my skillet over medium heat with a little canola oil. Canola oil is lighter than olive oil and also more mild in flavor, so it doesn’t compete with the flavor of the crust. I sprinkled the fish fillets with salt and pepper and then dredged them in the flour mixture and then dipped them into the egg mixture. I laid each side of the fillets into the pecan mixture and pressed them down so the fillets were well covered and then put them in the skillet. They took about 5 minutes on each side and the crust turned a wonderful golden brown.

I served the fish over spinach leaves and asparagus tips that I quickly blanched in boiling water and with a side of brown rice and cranberries. It looked outstanding. And the taste? The fish turned out moist and flaky and the crust was crunchy and sweet. It was a a fabulous combination of flavors and textures. It’s absolutely worth all the dishes it takes to make the crust. This is a great dish to serve to company as well. It’s not too difficult to put together, but it looks very impressive.

Poor Man’s Lobster Recipe

When I was young, my mom made fish called Poor Man’s Lobster a lot and it was always one of my favorites. My mom doesn’t like a strong fish flavor, which is probably why she prepared the fish this way. Haddock is pretty mild anyway, but by simmering it, it also takes on the sweetness of the liquid. I was feeling nostalgic the other day, so I asked my mom for the recipe. It is ridiculously simple. Boil 3 cups of water, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, a cubed onion, and a couple pieces of celery for 10 minutes and then add a pound of Haddock. I assume any white fish would do, but my mom always made it with Haddock. It only takes about 5 minutes for the fish to be done (it will flake easily with a fork). Drain the fish and transfer to a serving bowl along with the cooked onions and celery. My mom melted butter into individual bowls for us to dip the fish into and served it as is, but I decided to make it a little fancier and dusted the fish with paprika and added lemon slices. The fish becomes really sweet and mild and it’s great for people who don’t really like fish. It’s also a great way to get kids to eat fish. Of course, it wasn’t as good as when my mom makes it, but it was good and reminded me of being a kid again.