fish tacos!

So its the Monday after Thanksgiving and we are soooo turkey'd out!  What can I make for dinner?  I thought about it at the gym and could not come up with anything.  I looked through some cookbooks and nope...nothing.  I wanted something that was not poultry or meat (we had carne asada yesterday) - nachos you ask?.....had them yesterday too - ugh!  I finally turned on the T.V and caught some recorded episodes of my new favorite guy.....Chuck Hughes and that's when it hit.  He has a series Chuck's Week Off and he is hitting Mexico.  He visited Cabo San Lucas and had some delicious fish tacos.  My mouth started watering right away and to my surprise I actually had all the ingredients to make this meal. I topped my tacos with a cabbage slaw and paired them with some cilantro/lime rice and a Bohemia......delicioso!

Okay here we go......(don't forget to put on some music).

1. Fish: Four Tilapia filets.  Tilapia is my preferred fish for this because of its mild flavor and it cooks super fast.  Season filets with salt and pepper and make sure they are nice and dry.  Dust them with flour (this will help the batter adhere to the fish) and set it aside.

2. Cabbage Slaw:  Shred some cabbage and set aside.  In a small bowl mix the following:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• a pinch of cumin
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• squeeze 1 lime
• refrigerate

Combine with cabbage right before serving.

3. Oil:  In a heavy bottom skillet heat 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil on low - I use a Lodge cast iron skillet (my very favorite).  Do this before you start working on the batter.  

4. Batter: I made a beer batter (it was an excuse to open the first bottle of Bohemia), but if you don't have beer or don't want to use beer feel free to use some fizzy water instead.  However, the beer gives the batter nice flavor.  

• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 egg white - soft peaks
• 3/4 cup beer or fizzy water
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix flour, cornstarch, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl - add beer.  Whisk egg white and fold it into flour mixture.  

4. Fry: Bring your heat up to medium.  Working quickly and very carefully  dip the fish in the batter and slide it into the oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side until golden.  Make sure that you let the oil come back up to temperature between batches and do not crowd the fish as this will result in a soggy and greasy fish instead of crispy.  Pull fish out from oil and lay on paper towels.

Serve on warm corn tortillas and top with the cabbage slaw and some good salsa.  Buen provecho!

• 
  
•