Fish Tacos

Since I've started making my own tortillas, I can't get tacos out of my mind. One other taco I love to eat are fish tacos. Yes, that is what I shall make. My fish of choice on this was some dover sole, which was basically the thing that looks decent and appetizing at the market.

I had also received in the mail a small bottle of ponzu sauce with lime courtesy of the Tastemaker program from Foodbuzz and Kikkoman, yes those who make the soy sauce. Anyway, ponzu sauce can mostly be associated with Japanese food. It really great to dipping tempura. I decided to marinate the fish in the ponzu with some minced garlic. While that did its thing. I prepped the other ingredients and made some more flour tortillas.

When the fish was ready, I grilled it on good ol' Georgie along with a bell pepper that I sliced up after. Made myself a couple taco and drizzled some tapatio over. Yum!

Makes 6 tacos

Fish Tacos
3 fillet of sole
1 large garlic clove - minced
1/3 c ponzu sauce  (kikkoman ponzu with lime)
juice of half lemon
 
6 tortillas - taco-sized
2 c shredded lettuce
1 c fresh tomato - deseeded and small diced
1 small yellow bell pepper - quartered and deseeded
1 c shredded cheese

Marinate the fish, in a shallow dish, in the ponzu, lemon and garlic for at least an hour.

Prepare your grill. If cooking in a skillet, heat 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

Cook the fish 2-3 minutes per side depending on thickness of the fillet. Place on a clean plate and cover and let the fish rest for a couple of minutes.

Next grill the bell pepper until slightly charred and slice them into strips. 

Put the taco together:
Take a tortilla. place a few chunks of the fish in the center. Top with some lettuce, tomato, bell pepper and cheese.

Serve with some sour cream and/or hot sauce.

Roasted Eggplant Tacos

So here's what I made from my first attempt at making tortillas. Some good ol' roasted veggie tacos. It's not your traditional Mexican taco. I didn't have parsley or cilantro, so I used chopped fresh basil. I didn't have any cheddar, so I used shredded mozzarella. Rather than using fresh onions, I used sauteed onions with balsamic vinegar.

Makes 6 tacos

Roasted Eggplant Tacos

6 tortillas
2 long chinese eggplants
1 small onion - sliced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 medium tomato - deseeded and diced
1 c fresh basil - chopped
shredded cheese

Slice the eggplants in half. If it is long, cut them in half again. Sprinkle the meat with a little bit of salt. Let it rest for 10-20 minutes to remove any of the water. Pat them dry with a paper towel.

Preheat your broiler.

Slice the eggplants in half length-wise Lightly brush some extra virgin olive oil on the meat of the eggplants and place them on a baking sheet. Roast for roughly 15 minutes until the top layer has slightly charred. Let the eggplants rest for a couple of minutes before scooping out the meat from the skin.

Saute the onions in a little extra virgin olive oil until they are limp. Add the balsamic vinegar

Putting the taco together:
Take a tortilla, place some of the eggplant in the center. Top it with some diced tomato, basil, and shredded cheese and enjoy.

Grilled Chicken Tacos

I like a good taco. I'm one of those taco bell kids growing up and up until recently. I got a craving for some tacos a few days ago and decided since that I had some tacos shells left, I'd make use of them before they expire, which wasn't until months away, but I couldn't resist. I marinated a chicken breast for several hours and when it came to dinner time all I had to do was grill it up and serve. Instead of putting lettuce as the "greens" part of the taco, I added my tomato-corn salsa to give it a little pizzaz.

This taco can easily be adapted to you preference of "meats." If you want seafood like shrimp or fish, go right ahead or carne asada. It's what you want. For me, I grilled me up some chicken. You can also baked it if you'd like, too. The possibilities are endless.

I made 5 tacos. I really stuffed these tacos to the brim with chicken, salsa, avocado slices with the usual condiment of sour cream and cheese. They looked like they were about to burst! Luckily, they didn't. My taste buds were dancing with delight. They were doing a little jig in my mouth. I ate 2 1/2 and it wasn't too filling or too light. It was just right as Goldilocks said when she ate little baby bear's porridge.

Oh, if you're going to use beef or pork, add a little 7-up to the marinade. It'll help tenderize the meat, making it easier to shred and cut up.

Makes 4-6 tacos.

Grilled Chicken Taco

1 large chicken breast (you substitute with seafood, fish, beef or pork)
1 ripe avocado
sour cream
shredded cheese
Tomato-Corn Salsa (click here for recipe)
4-5 taco shells

marinade:
1/4 soy sauce
1 Tbsp worchestshire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp brown sugar
pepper
1/4 can 7-up (for pork or beef)

Combine the ingredients for the marinade, seasoned with a little pepper, and place it in a large ziplock bag with the chicken and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30min. This can be done in advance.

Prepare your grill. Cook the chicken breast on each side for roughly 8-10, depending on the heat of your grill. Baste with the marinade. Let it rest for 2-5 min, then shred to pieces.

Put the taco together -- Take a shell. Layer the chicken at the bottom, then salsa, sour cream and cheese.

To bake the chicken:
Place the chicken breast on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a 350˚F preheated oven for 25-30 min. Let it rest for 2-5 min before shredding.

Note: You can replace the chicken with fish, shrimp, beef, pork, etc.

Fish Tacos

Does that first pic scream dream sequence or what?

Right now my fridge and cupboards are looking like slim pickings. I wasn't able to go to the farmer's market this past weekend, so I have to make due with what I've got left. Yet, I've noticed that sometimes the best recipes come out when I've got little to nothing in the kitchen. But when I do have the kitchen stocked up, I draw a complete and utter blank. I know I'm not alone on this.

Anyway, on that list of slim pickings are some leftover sun-dried tomato pesto, a couple whole wheat tortillas, a cup of plain Greek yogurt, and a couple cans of sardines in soybean oil. I only used one can. I don't get why sardines and anchovies get such a bad rap. It's good stuff. It's fish except one is slightly saltier. Oh well, that means more for me and whoever wants to partake in the fishy fun. So what did I make with those ingredients? I settled for some soft tacos. Did a quick pan-fry of the sardines, assembled the tacos and it was chow time.

A new version of the fish taco? Sure, why not? There's not a real fishy taste because of the pesto and yogurt. I gotta say I really liked it.

This makes 2 tacos.



Sardine Soft Tacos

2 taco-sized tortillas
1 4oz can sardines in oil
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Plain Yogurt
Paprika
Pieces of Butter Lettuce


Make sure to remove any bones or spine from the sardines.

In a small pan or skillet, pan-fry the sardines in its own oil. Season each side with paprika and cook until you get a slightly crisp crust. Roughly 2-3 min per side on medium to low heat.

When fully cooked, place on a paper towel to drain off the excess oil.

Spread some sun-tried tomato pesto in the middle of the tortillas. Then place some of the pieces of the butter lettuce.

Divide the sardines evenly between the two and dollop some of the yogurt on top.

Wrap it up and enjoy.