Archive for July, 2010

14 Jul Vacation, Uncle Emil's Fish Tacos and 10,000 Mosquitos

I spent this past week on vacation in the Eastern Sierra. It was beautiful, hot and thoroughly relaxing, and included a lot of quality time outside with little climbing, a little hiking, a great 25-mile bike ride and, frankly, a little time just lazying around  in the sun.

Usually, vacations are a big challenge for maintaining healthy eating, and while I was fortunate enough to have home-cooked meals almost every day (make that home-grilled meals — that grill got a workout!), it was definitely hard to resist the urge to use being on vacation as an excuse to celebrate, let loose and indulge a little … over and over and over.

On the last night, after a beautiful afternoon hike (which, sadly, was cut short by swarms of mean-spirited, thirsty mosquitos), I had an opportunity to try my Uncle Emil’s increasingly famous fish taco recipe.

Side note: I am a huge fan of tacos. It’s often how I (1) throw together a quick meal and still feel like I’m having a hearty, thoughtfully prepared lunch or dinner and (2) make sure that I’m stuffing myself with healthy goodness. It’s sooooo satisfying to pick up and chow down on a tortilla bulging with left-over greens, sauteed veggies and tofu, fresh avocado, … etc., topped with green salsa, red garlicky salsa, pesto … too many options!

Anyway, my Aunt Lynda recently told me about my Uncle’s latest culinary win with these tacos, how he tested and tinkered until he hit the jackpot with this version. So, clearly, on this last night of vacation, whipping up Uncle Emil’s Fish Tacos felt like the perfect way to end on a healthy, satisfying note and we set up a fairly elaborate taco bar with some beautiful grilled veggies, left-over rabbit (expertly cooked by my dad, the high-stepping rock climber above, the night before) and Uncle Emil’s signature grilled talapia, served with his yogurt dressing that was by far the hit of the night with it’s combination of refreshing dill and earthy cumin. I made one change to his recipe by substituting 1 cup of greek yogurt for the 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup mayonnaise originally called for (I’m not a fan of mayo, unless, as I recently confessed to a friend, you toss in some garlic and call it “aioli” – then I’m all over it. Go figure).  Next time, I’ll likely try fresh herbs in the dressing.

Fish Taco’s – Uncle Emil Style

1 lbs talapia fillets (fresh or frozen work equally well, and you can experiment with other firm-fleshed fish, such as halibut or snapper, depending on what you like)

1 package of corn tortillas

1/2 small head cabbage finely shredded

2 ripe avocados

assorted grill-friendly vegetables

olive oil

Marinade:

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T fresh lime juice (juice of 1-1 1/2 limes)

2 t lime zest (1-2 limes)

1 1/2 t honey

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t chili powder

1 t hot pepper sauce to taste

1/2 t ground pepper

Dressing:

1 C plain yogurt (I used thicker Greek yogurt)

1 lime, juiced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 t dried oregano (more if using fresh)

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t cayenne

1/2 t dried dill (more if using fresh)

salt and pepper, to taste

Cut fish into 1/2 inch strips or 1 inch chunks, depending on how you want to fill your tacos, and place in a shallow dish (I used frozen talapia that hadn’t thawed enough to cut easily, so I left the filets whole to marinade and cut the fish into strips just before grilling). It helps if the dish is just big enough for the fish to lie in a single layer, so the marinade will cover all of the pieces. Whisk together marinade ingredients and pour over fish. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 6-8 hours in the refrigerator (although, my Aunt said they only did it for 2 hours and the fish turned out great, so… work with whatever timeline you have. I definitely needed the extra time for the fish to finish thawing in the refrigerator).

Then, in a medium-small bowl, gradually stir lime juice into yogurt until slightly runny. Add jalapeno and other herbs and spices and mix well. Cover and refrigerate to let flavors blend.

In the last hour while the fish was marinating and the dressing was blending, I prepped some red bell pepper, red onion and asparagus, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper for grilling. If you have limited space on your grill, go ahead and do the veggies first (versus the fish first and risk it drying out while everything else comes together).

With outdoor grill set for high heat, lightly oil grate (my Uncle recommends setting grate 4 inches from heat, but our grill just sat in its normal position and I have no idea how far it was from the flames) and grill fish on a fish grate for 5 minutes each side (turn only once) until easily flaked with a fork (discard excess marinade). Done. How easy is that?

Serve up with corn tortillas (we even grilled these while setting up the taco bar) and grilled veggies (if desired),  and top with shredded cabbage (we opted for this gorgeous purple cabbage and threw in some yummy avocado) and finish off with a healthy dollup of the yogurt dressing.

Five of us feasted on this spread. The yogurt dressing was so good and the fish so well-spiced, no one even touched the salsa and few passed up more fish for the rabbit. Light, refreshing and totally satisfying after a day of climbing and hiking (and, yes, napping – it was a vacation after all).

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