Smoky Tomato Salsa

Recently I made this smoky pureed salsa to go with fried fish tacos.  It worked deliciously well.  But honestly, this salsa is so much more versatile than that. It tastes good with tortilla chips, grilled fish tacos, and probably works as a general accompaniment many types of Mexican dishes.

The chipotle hot sauce gives this a nice smokiness which tames the spice that comes from the serrano and jalapeno peppers. Also, because the tomatoes are cooked, the salsa has a sweeter, more rounded taste than a pure raw pico de gallo.  Definitely a keeper.


Serves 4
Total time: 45 minutes
Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay's Fish Taco Recipe

Ingredients
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 serrano chili pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno chili pepper , sliced
1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce
1 tablespoon oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
lime juice, to taste (~ 1/2 to 1 lime's worth)

Saute onions and garlic over medium heat until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes and the chilis until the tomatoes are soft (about 15 minutes). Use an immersion blender, puree the mixture. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a normal blender. Add hot sauce, oregano, cilantro, and lime juice. Mix together and serve!

*Note: if you really don't feel like blending, you can serve this dish "chunky style" without blending.
* Note2: I bought my chipotle hot sauce at Whole Foods.  Tabasco brand sells it.

Enjoy!

Baja Style Fish Tacos (deep fried)

Can something fried ever tastes worse than something grilled?

Well . . . maybe, but in this case the fried fish tacos won hands down against the grilled fish tacos I made a few days earlier.  Granted, I did use a less-than-ideal fish when making the grilled fish tacos.  But still, there's something about that spicy, crunchy salty coating in a fried fish taco that is just so satisfying.

The fish in these fish tacos are dredged in a mixture of flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper before being quickly pan fried for a few minutes.  What results is a golden brown, crunchy piece of fish with a kick that tastes fantastic in a taco.

Definitely add the spicy chili mayo and fresh pico di gallo! It really kicks this dish up several notches!

Fried Fish Tacos from The New York Times
Makes 12 tacos

Ingredients
For the fish
1 tablespoon canned chipotle pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 pound firm white-fleshed fish, cut across the grain of the flesh into strips about 1/2 inch wide by 3 inches long (I used cod, which worked great!)

Other Garnishes (not all are required - this is all up to you!)
12 6-inch fresh corn tortillas
2 cups shredded green cabbage
pico di gallo
smoky tomato salsa
spicy chili mayo
guacamole


Preparing the Fish
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, chili powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of kosher salt and black pepper. Pour the milk into another medium bowl, and place the fish into it.

Pour 1/4 cup of the peanut oil into a 12-inch frying pan and place over medium-high heat until it shimmers and is about to smoke. Remove the fish pieces from the milk bath and dredge them lightly through the flour mixture, shaking to remove excess. Place some fish pieces in the oil, without crowding them, and cook until deep golden brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn carefully and cook for 1 minute more. Remove to a warmed, paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining fish.

Preparing the Tortillas
Meanwhile, heat the tortillas, one or two at a time, in a nonstick pan (or lightly oiled pan) on medium heat until they are soft and hot. Keep them warm, wrapped in a dish towel.

Assembly
Instead of writing out directions, I'll do it visually. :)







Enjoy!

Smoky Tomato Salsa

Recently I made this smoky pureed salsa to go with fried fish tacos.  It worked deliciously well.  But honestly, this salsa is so much more versatile than that. It tastes good with tortilla chips, grilled fish tacos, and probably works as a general accompaniment many types of Mexican dishes.

The chipotle hot sauce gives this a nice smokiness which tames the spice that comes from the serrano and jalapeno peppers. Also, because the tomatoes are cooked, the salsa has a sweeter, more rounded taste than a pure raw pico de gallo.  Definitely a keeper.


Serves 4
Total time: 45 minutes
Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay's Fish Taco Recipe

Ingredients
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 serrano chili pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno chili pepper , sliced
1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce
1 tablespoon oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
lime juice, to taste (~ 1/2 to 1 lime's worth)

Saute onions and garlic over medium heat until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes and the chilis until the tomatoes are soft (about 15 minutes). Use an immersion blender, puree the mixture. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a normal blender. Add hot sauce, oregano, cilantro, and lime juice. Mix together and serve!

*Note: if you really don't feel like blending, you can serve this dish "chunky style" without blending.
* Note2: I bought my chipotle hot sauce at Whole Foods.  Tabasco brand sells it.

Enjoy!

Baja Style Fish Tacos (deep fried)

Can something fried ever tastes worse than something grilled?

Well . . . maybe, but in this case the fried fish tacos won hands down against the grilled fish tacos I made a few days earlier.  Granted, I did use a less-than-ideal fish when making the grilled fish tacos.  But still, there's something about that spicy, crunchy salty coating in a fried fish taco that is just so satisfying.

The fish in these fish tacos are dredged in a mixture of flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper before being quickly pan fried for a few minutes.  What results is a golden brown, crunchy piece of fish with a kick that tastes fantastic in a taco.

Definitely add the spicy chili mayo and fresh pico di gallo! It really kicks this dish up several notches!

Fried Fish Tacos from The New York Times
Makes 12 tacos

Ingredients
For the fish
1 tablespoon canned chipotle pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 pound firm white-fleshed fish, cut across the grain of the flesh into strips about 1/2 inch wide by 3 inches long (I used cod, which worked great!)

Other Garnishes (not all are required - this is all up to you!)
12 6-inch fresh corn tortillas
2 cups shredded green cabbage
pico di gallo
smoky tomato salsa
spicy chili mayo


Preparing the Fish
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, chili powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of kosher salt and black pepper. Pour the milk into another medium bowl, and place the fish into it.

Pour 1/4 cup of the peanut oil into a 12-inch frying pan and place over medium-high heat until it shimmers and is about to smoke. Remove the fish pieces from the milk bath and dredge them lightly through the flour mixture, shaking to remove excess. Place some fish pieces in the oil, without crowding them, and cook until deep golden brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn carefully and cook for 1 minute more. Remove to a warmed, paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining fish.

Preparing the Tortillas
Meanwhile, heat the tortillas, one or two at a time, in a nonstick pan (or lightly oiled pan) on medium heat until they are soft and hot. Keep them warm, wrapped in a dish towel.

Assembly
Instead of writing out directions, I'll do it visually. :)







Enjoy!

Chili Mayo Sauce

I love the types of "recipes" that aren't really recipes at all.  They are so flexible that, as long as you sort of have the right ratios in place, it really doesn't matter exactly how much you add.  It's all to taste, anyway.

This chili mayo sauce is just like that.  It's made up of just five simple ingredients and tastes fantastic on fish tacos.  I recently tried making fish tacos two ways: grilled and fried. This sauce livens up either kind.  I love how it's easy to make, and you can tweak the flavors depending on what kind of chili powders and chili sauces you have on hand.


Chili Cream Sauce
2 parts Sour Cream
1 Part Mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp chili sauce (I used chipotle chili sauce)
1 tsp chili powder (I used a mix of regular chili powder and chipotle chili powder)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve!

Tastes great with fish tacos.

Chili Mayo Sauce

I love the types of "recipes" that aren't really recipes at all.  They are so flexible that, as long as you sort of have the right ratios in place, it really doesn't matter exactly how much you add.  It's all to taste, anyway.

This chili mayo sauce is just like that.  It's made up of just five simple ingredients and tastes fantastic on fish tacos.  I recently tried making fish tacos two ways: grilled and fried. This sauce livens up either kind.  I love how it's easy to make, and you can tweak the flavors depending on what kind of chili powders and chili sauces you have on hand.


Chili Cream Sauce
2 parts Sour Cream
1 Part Mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp chili sauce (I used chipotle chili sauce)
1 tsp chili powder (I used a mix of regular chili powder and chipotle chili powder)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve!

Tastes great with fish tacos.

Pico de Gallo

This classic tomato salsa is super versatile and can go on many different types of dishes.  I made them for fish tacos, but they pretty much go with most Mexican type dishes!


Pico de Gallo
2 vine ripen tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

With all the chopping, this salsa is a bit labor intensive, but it's sooooo worth it! Mix together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Serve with fish tacos, fried tortilla chips, pita chips, over grilled fish, . . . the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!

Grilled Fish Tacos

I guess I'm on a celebrity chef kick.

Bryan loves fish tacos.  It's one of his favorites foods, really.  While he was in Mexico on a church missions trip back in high school, he and his friends ate dozens of fish tacos from street vendors every day.  It was so delicious, and you could get three tacos for a dollar!

Then all the kids came back to America and suffered digestive problems for like a month.

Amazingly, that has not turned Bryan off of fish tacos at all (you really would expect that it would!).  Instead, he still loves them, and often laments that you can't get good ones in Boston.

I have always shied away from trying fish tacos because it involves deep frying at home, which I was reluctant to do.  So, when I stumbled upon this simpler Bobby Flay recipe, I thought I would give it a try.  It uses grilled fish instead, marinated in lime juice, ancho chili powder, and cilantro.

Interestingly enough, within the same week (because I had so many leftover taco garnishes), I ended up making fried fish tacos as well.  I'll be posting on those soon, as well as which one we liked better.  Stay tuned!


Grilled Fish Tacos
For the recipe in a nice, printable format, I'd just use the Food Network one.  I basically followed it to the letter.


Fish
1 pound white flaky fish, such as mahi mahi or orata

Marinade
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoons ancho chili powder (I used regular chili powder)
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 flour tortillas

Garnish
Shredded white cabbage
Hot sauce
Crema or sour cream
Thinly sliced red onion
Thinly sliced green onion
Chopped cilantro leaves
Smoky homemade tomato salsa

Marinate the fish in the "marinade" for about 20 minutes.  Then grill (I had to use a grill pan in my urban condo, which worked out fine).

One major mistake I made was trying to make this with turbot, a very soft fish.  The soft fish ends up breaking apart while grilling.  Although it still tasted pretty good, it would have been nicer if the fish had been a firmer fish.  I learned that lesson and applied it to the fried fish tacos, which I'll share later this week.

I did make two extra "toppings" to go with the fish tacos.  Pico de gallo (because I love fresh tomatoes) and a creamy chili sauce. One of my guests mentioned that Rubios in California has this spicy cream sauce.  Even though I had never tried it before, I decided to try to make something similar.

It was delicious!  Click here for that spicy mayo sauce recipe.

Oh, and click here for the pico de gallo recipe.

Update: here's an awesome guacamole recipe that would work too!

Enjoy!!  nom nom nom . . .

Pico de Gallo

This classic tomato salsa is super versatile and can go on many different types of dishes.  I made them for fish tacos, but they pretty much go with most Mexican type dishes!


Pico de Gallo
2 vine ripen tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

With all the chopping, this salsa is a bit labor intensive, but it's sooooo worth it! Mix together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Serve with fish tacos, fried tortilla chips, pita chips, over grilled fish, . . . the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!

Grilled Fish Tacos

I guess I'm on a celebrity chef kick.

Bryan loves fish tacos.  It's one of his favorites foods, really.  While he was in Mexico on a church missions trip back in high school, he and his friends ate dozens of fish tacos from street vendors every day.  It was so delicious, and you could get three tacos for a dollar!

Then all the kids came back to America and suffered digestive problems for like a month.

Amazingly, that has not turned Bryan off of fish tacos at all (you really would expect that it would!).  Instead, he still loves them, and often laments that you can't get good ones in Boston.

I have always shied away from trying fish tacos because it involves deep frying at home, which I was reluctant to do.  So, when I stumbled upon this simpler Bobby Flay recipe, I thought I would give it a try.  It uses grilled fish instead, marinated in lime juice, ancho chili powder, and cilantro.

Interestingly enough, within the same week (because I had so many leftover taco garnishes), I ended up making fried fish tacos as well.  I'll be posting on those soon, as well as which one we liked better.  Stay tuned!


Grilled Fish Tacos
For the recipe in a nice, printable format, I'd just use the Food Network one.  I basically followed it to the letter.


Fish
1 pound white flaky fish, such as mahi mahi or orata

Marinade
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoons ancho chili powder (I used regular chili powder)
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 flour tortillas

Garnish
Shredded white cabbage
Hot sauce
Crema or sour cream
Thinly sliced red onion
Thinly sliced green onion
Chopped cilantro leaves
Smoky homemade tomato salsa

Marinate the fish in the "marinade" for about 20 minutes.  Then grill (I had to use a grill pan in my urban condo, which worked out fine).

One major mistake I made was trying to make this with turbot, a very soft fish.  The soft fish ends up breaking apart while grilling.  Although it still tasted pretty good, it would have been nicer if the fish had been a firmer fish.  I learned that lesson and applied it to the fried fish tacos, which I'll share later this week.

I did make two extra "toppings" to go with the fish tacos.  Pico de gallo (because I love fresh tomatoes) and a creamy chili sauce. One of my guests mentioned that Rubios in California has this spicy cream sauce.  Even though I had never tried it before, I decided to try to make something similar.

It was delicious!  Click here for that spicy mayo sauce recipe.

Oh, and click here for the pico de gallo recipe.

Enjoy!!  nom nom nom . . .

Simple White Bean Dip

This is so easy, I almost wonder whether I need to put the recipe up.

I was feeling peckish after lunch the other day. I hate eating unbalanced meals. Unfortunately, all I had at home were pasta leftovers from Basta Pasta Cambridge. As much as I love that restaurant, I do wish they were more healthy - or at least balanced.

Anyway, I only allowed myself to eat half of the leftovers, since the dish was like 95% carbs.

Of course it wasn't enough food.

And I was hungry.

But I didn't want to eat MORE carbs! My pants were already a bit tight from the gorging I had done over Christmas in California and also in Las Vegas in the past few weeks.

So I rummaged around the empty cupboard, and found a can of beans.

Beans have protein right? Wouldn't they be considered a "meat"?

In any event, I quickly whipped up this dip and was surprised how flavorful it was! The combination of garlic, lime juice, oregano, salt & pepper combined with the white beans creates a simple, flavorful dip.

These go great with homemade pita chips!

It was the perfect answer to my not-so-satisfied stomach.

Simple White Bean Dip
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine everything beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and (optionally) parsley in a food processor and pulse to desired consistency.  I made mine pretty smooth - it took about a minute.  Add salt, pepper, and oregano to taste.

Serve!

Simple White Bean Dip

This is so easy, I almost wonder whether I need to put the recipe up.

I was feeling peckish after lunch the other day. I hate eating unbalanced meals. Unfortunately, all I had at home were pasta leftovers from Basta Pasta Cambridge. As much as I love that restaurant, I do wish they were more healthy - or at least balanced.

Anyway, I only allowed myself to eat half of the leftovers, since the dish was like 95% carbs.

Of course it wasn't enough food.

And I was hungry.

But I didn't want to eat MORE carbs! My pants were already a bit tight from the gorging I had done over Christmas in California and also in Las Vegas in the past few weeks.

So I rummaged around the empty cupboard, and found a can of beans.

Beans have protein right? Wouldn't they be considered a "meat"?

In any event, I quickly whipped up this dip and was surprised how flavorful it was! The combination of garlic, lime juice, oregano, salt & pepper combined with the white beans creates a simple, flavorful dip.

These go great with homemade pita chips!

It was the perfect answer to my not-so-satisfied stomach.

Simple White Bean Dip
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine everything beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and (optionally) parsley in a food processor and pulse to desired consistency.  I made mine pretty smooth - it took about a minute.  Add salt, pepper, and oregano to taste.

Serve!

Potato Blinis

This recipe is a part of the larger recipe, citrus marinated salmon, although you can make the potato blinis on their own and put any topping of your choice!

This recipe is based off of Thomas Keller's recipe for citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens, but I was really short on time.  Thomas Keller recommends boiling the potatoes whole (which probably takes like 35-40 minutes!); removing the skins quickly while the potatoes are hot (ouch!); and then pushing the potatoes through a potato ricer or a sieve.

I only had like 20 minutes to prepare this before guests would start arriving, so there was no way I was going to succeed with that recipe.  Instead, I cut up the potatoes into smaller chunks, microwaved them (~7-8 minutes!), mashed them frantically with a fork, and then proceeded to make the blinis.

I'm sure my potato blinis are more "rustic" and textured, which I personally think gives them charm.  I'm sure they are not as smooth and silky as Thomas Keller's version, but I kind of like my blinis sorts of chunky.  And best yet, I was able to finish the blinis in time for my arriving guests!

Potato Blinis
Makes about 12 small blinis

Ingredients
2 potatoes (ideally baking potatoes, like Russett)
2 eggs
2 T all purpose flour
1 egg white (optional)
2 T heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut them up into smaller sizes (1 inch slices). Note - Peeling is optional. I did not peel beforehand, so my blinis had that rustic look with peels included!  Cook potatoes in the microwave until done (around 7-8 minutes).  Mash the potatoes roughly with a fork and then add the flour.  Continue folding in the ingredients, adding the cream, and then eggs, and finally salt and pepper.

Form 2 inch diameter circles (this is flexible - it's all up to how big you want your blinis to be) with the potato mixture and cook on a griddle or a saute pan as you would pancakes (I used about medium heat with about 1-2 T of vegetable oil).  Flip over after they are browned on one side, about 2 minutes, and cook the other side.

Once complete, finish off by adding toppings of your choice, such as citrus marinated salmon and garden greens with citrus vinaigrette!

Enjoy!

Potato Blinis

This recipe is a part of the larger recipe, citrus marinated salmon, although you can make the potato blinis on their own and put any topping of your choice!

This recipe is based off of Thomas Keller's recipe for citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens, but I was really short on time.  Thomas Keller recommends boiling the potatoes whole (which probably takes like 35-40 minutes!); removing the skins quickly while the potatoes are hot (ouch!); and then pushing the potatoes through a potato ricer or a sieve.

I only had like 20 minutes to prepare this before guests would start arriving, so there was no way I was going to succeed with that recipe.  Instead, I cut up the potatoes into smaller chunks, microwaved them (~7-8 minutes!), mashed them frantically with a fork, and then proceeded to make the blinis.

I'm sure my potato blinis are more "rustic" and textured, which I personally think gives them charm.  I'm sure they are not as smooth and silky as Thomas Keller's version, but I kind of like my blinis sorts of chunky.  And best yet, I was able to finish the blinis in time for my arriving guests!

Potato Blinis
Makes about 12 small blinis

Ingredients
2 potatoes (ideally baking potatoes, like Russett)
2 eggs
2 T all purpose flour
1 egg white (optional)
2 T heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut them up into smaller sizes (1 inch slices). Note - Peeling is optional. I did not peel beforehand, so my blinis had that rustic look with peels included!  Cook potatoes in the microwave until done (around 7-8 minutes).  Mash the potatoes roughly with a fork and then add the flour.  Continue folding in the ingredients, adding the cream, and then eggs, and finally salt and pepper.

Form 2 inch diameter circles (this is flexible - it's all up to how big you want your blinis to be) with the potato mixture and cook on a griddle or a saute pan as you would pancakes (I used about medium heat with about 1-2 T of vegetable oil).  Flip over after they are browned on one side, about 2 minutes, and cook the other side.

Once complete, finish off by adding toppings of your choice, such as citrus marinated salmon and garden greens with citrus vinaigrette!

Enjoy!

Citrus Vinaigrette

It's all about the ratios.

1:1:2

That's all you have to remember!

Citrus Vinaigrette
1 part citrus juice (I used a mixture of lemon and lime juice)
1 part white wine vinegar
2 parts olive oil

Shake in a jar until you have an emulsion (temporary mixture of oil and water!) and use the dressing immediately. Add just enough to lightly coat the greens.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.  That's it!

This dressing is part of the larger dish - citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens.

 Or , you can make a lovely salad with this dressing.  The possibilities are endless . . . orange slices, almonds, grilled chicken . . really, whatever you fancy.

Enjoy!

Citrus Vinaigrette

It's all about the ratios.

1:1:2

That's all you have to remember!

Citrus Vinaigrette
1 part citrus juice (I used a mixture of lemon and lime juice)
1 part white wine vinegar
2 parts olive oil

Shake in a jar until you have an emulsion (temporary mixture of oil and water!) and use the dressing immediately. Add just enough to lightly coat the greens.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.  That's it!

This dressing is part of the larger dish - citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens.

 Or , you can make a lovely salad with this dressing.  The possibilities are endless . . . orange slices, almonds, grilled chicken . . really, whatever you fancy.

Enjoy!