With the Fourth of July now behind us it’s time to seriously think about fishing trips, vacations, fairs, camping and the outdoors in general. You’ll need to grab a pole in order to prepare this week’s dish. One of my favorite dishes ever are fish tacos. As seafood tacos go you can prepare them to suit your own personal preferences. My recipe today may feature cabbage inside the tortilla, but you may prefer lettuce.
The fish itself can be prepared in any fashion you desire. Sometimes I use crappie down here in the Ozarks and I’ll just lightly sauté it before it goes in the wrap without any breading whatsoever. Then I might bake fish filets using a spicy creole mixture by Saharan’s. Of course, the the good ole’ fried fish or grilled will also make a good choice.
Cheese, I don’t prefer it in my fish tacos, but maybe you will? The type of white fish that you reach for sort of’ depends upon what’s attracted to the bait on your pole! Here in Missouri I would use bass, crappie, catfish or trout. But there’s also many varieties of store-bought fish that will work like tilapia, snapper, halibut or salmon.
I’ve given a simple dill sauce for this recipe, but if you need to simplify more there are going to be lots of options out there. Today I was serving my mango chicken wraps at work. The fruity mango sauce would be nice against fish as well as the chicken. If you’re in a tired phase (like me tonight) you might even reach for a store bought vinegar and oil dressing.
You will note there is no cilantro or specialty herbs in this presentation. Doesn’t mean you can’t add your favorites from the herb garden. In the dill sauce you could do a substitute and go with yogurt instead of sour cream. BUT….before you do read the back of the sour cream label against the yogurt nutrition facts. Chances are you will find the same thing that I did this past week. The sour cream is much, and I mean much lighter in salt and sugar than most yogurts. However the yogurt has very little fat compared to sour cream. So, pick your vice, to be ever so blunt.
As much as I enjoy cooking I would love to grab my fishing pole and spend a bit of time hanging out by the lake. Last weekend we celebrated Grandpa Ed’s 80th birthday on Table Rock all day Saturday. We cooked out and had one heck of a good time. Then on Sunday my entire family accompanied me back to Northeast Missouri, to my hometown of Lewistown. I had a couple of book signings and I got to call on a few old friends. It was a busy, but fun time. I convinced everyone to go to Hannibal, of course that meant we just had to go eat at the Mark Twain Dinette. My ‘maid rite’ – ‘loose burger’ was delicious, to say the very least. Then there was the homemade root beer. This was my old college hangout, so it was fun to introduce it to our son, Phillip. We had a good time with my parents in Lewistown. Phillip really enjoys listening to his grandpa tell ‘stories’. Frankly, I do too! I saw lots of old friends and acquaintances while I was back. Next year I’m thinking about visiting during the fair and hosting some sort of cooking event.
Next Sunday, July 12th there is going to be an article about my career in the Quincy Herald Whig. If it’s not delivered to your home I’m sure it will be on line.
Friends it’s been a very long week for this cook, and I’m looking forward to the 4th and just ‘hanging out’ at home. Have an outstanding week. Simply Yours, The Covered Dish.
Fish Tacos
1 1/2 lbs. white fish or even shrimp
2 cups shredded cabbage
1-2 tomatoes, finely chopped
6 green onions, chopped fine
8 (6 inch) tortillas, try to get thin
Zingy Dill Sauce
1/3 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced, fresh dill
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve with the fish of choice as shared in the column above. Set aside while preparing the fish.
Sauté’, grill, fry or back the fish. For baking use a 425 degree oven and bake for about 9 minutes.
At home I use lemon pepper and Black Kettle seasoning on my whitefish. There are many unique seafood seasonings at most stores. A good blend for a scratch recipe could be: 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon dry dill or even 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper.
Warm tortillas in a damp paper towel in the microwave to warm and soften. Fill with fish, cabbage, tomato, onion and dill sauce.
