Saturday, April 17, 2010

Fish Tacos ☺

Serves 2 or 3

A tip of the hat to Ortega® as the inspiration for this Fish Tacos recipe. I substituted tuna for white fleshed fish, and lime juice for lemon juice in the original recipe. I also added chipotle pepper, and I left out the 1/4 c cilantro in the mayonnaise mixture, because I didn't have any.

Filling

1/2 c sour cream (non-fat is okay)
1/2 c mayonnaise (low-fat is okay)
2 chipotle peppers en adobo, finely chopped (about 2T)
1 package taco seasoning mix, divided
3/4 lb tuna steaks, cut into 1/4" x 1" pieces
2 T vegetable oil
2 T lime juice
8 corn tortillas, warmed

Toppings - If you are in a hurry, make use of the salad bar at the supermarket. You can even cheat with store-bought guacamole.

chopped tomatoes
chopped scallions
chopped cabbage or curtido
guacamole (1 avocado, 1/4 t salt, juice of one small lime)
sour cream

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, chipotle, and 1/2 spice mix in a small serving bowl.

Mix together tuna, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and remaining spice mix. Let stand for a few minutes. Fry the tuna mixture in a medium high skillet, turning it at least once. The tuna cooks very quickly, two to three minutes on each side. As soon as the tuna is done (it will have turned a whitish color), place the fish in a serving dish.

Fill warmed tortillas with tuna and a tablespoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Top with chopped cabbage, tomatoes and scallions, guacamole, and sour cream.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Potato Salad

4 servings

2 medium red potatoes, 1/2-inch cubed
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, washed, trimmed, and thinly sliced
1 small dill pickle, finely chopped
6 large pitted olives, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T vinegar
2 t prepared country mustard
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 c parsley, chopped

Scrub the potatoes and remove any blemishes. Cube the potatoes, cover them with cold water in a small sauce pot, and bring the potatoes to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to a lazy boil, cover the pot and cook the potatoes for 9 - 10 minutes. Do not cook them any longer!

While the potatoes are cooking, chop the vegetables, and place all of them, except the parsley, in a large bowl. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander and let them cool for five minutes or so, then add them to the vegetables in the bowl.

Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and vegetables and mix very lightly. Mix together the mustard and the vinegar. Pour over the potatoes and mix very lightly. Carefully, fold in the chopped parsley. Cover, and refrigerate the salad a couple of hours before serving.