Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Fish Tacos with Guacamole Sauce


The weather is getting hotter and hotter which means I want to cook less and less or spend a lot less time doing it. When I went to the grocery store yesterday, all I knew is that I wanted fish tacos for dinner so I purchased some rock cod to get me going.

Prior to last night, I had never made a fish taco. I often eat them when I go out to eat but I find the fish is breaded, fried, over spiced, and/or over cooked so I wanted to see if I could make something healthier. I came home and I found a great fish taco recipe by Rachel Ray on the Food Network website. I was surprised at how low-fat this recipe is given that she puts cheese, butter, etc. on everything. It was quick, easy, and oh so tasty. I have provided a link to the original recipe but what I provide below is modified to make enough for two folks.

The guacamole sauce was excellent -- it was the first time I had seen yogurt called for in guac and it really adds some tanginess to offset the fattiness of the avocado. Yummy! And the fish was super tender, flaky, and flavorful.

This recipe really does take 30 minutes or less. Super fun and super easy. If you don't cook, you could do this.

Makes 2 servings (3 tacos per person)
Time: 30 minutes or less

Ingredients
Fish
-3/4 lb. rock cod or some white fish that will flake
-extra virgin olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-Juice of 1/2 lime

Guacamole Sauce
-1 medium sized avocado
-Juice of 1/2 lemon
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt
-Coarse salt
-1/2 vine ripe tomato seeded

Other
-Baby spinach
-Corn tortillas

Preparation
3/4 lb. Rock cod was 2 good sized filets. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil and rub in thoroughly with hands. On medium heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil onto a large non-stick skillet. When hot, place fish and cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip. You should see the edges of the fish become white and translucent. Flip, and cook other side for 3-4 minutes. When done, squeeze lime juice onto fish, remove from heat and flake with fork.

While fish is cooking, combine avocado, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, yogurt and salt. Mash together with fork or use food processor or blender. I used the fork method. Stir in diced tomatoes. The recipe calls for plain yogurt and when I was at the grocery store, the smallest container of yogurt I could find was plain Greek yogurt. It's rich and creamy and I highly recommend using it in this recipe. The guacamole sauce is creamy and some what thick.

In looking at the sauce this morning, it has still retained it's good color unlike regular guacamole that begins to turn that awful brown-green color.

After fish is done, heat up some corn tortillas on the stove or microwave. Put chunks of fish onto tortilla. Top with guacamole sauce and baby spinach.

I purchased some nice cheddar cheese to make a pinto bean and cheese side but totally forgot about it in the excitement of making something new. If you wanted, you could add this as a side.

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