fins to the left, fins to the right!

Fast, Fresh and Easy

Grilled Grouper Tacos!

I thought that "fish tacos" were a fast food restaurant invention... fried fish and some kind of mayonnaise-based slaw and ummmmm, "hey, let's put it in a tortilla instead of a sesame seed bun!" But I discovered that they have been around a long time; presumably for thousands of years as fishermen cooked their catch and ate it in a tortilla-like roll. In "recorded history" the fish taco became popular in Mexico in the 1950s; both Ensenada and San Felipe claim to be the home of the finned wonders. Through the years, the fish tacos have evolved from fried fish in a corn tortilla, to all sorts of variations including grilled, which I experimented with in the Lonesome Road Kitchen.

I loosely followed a couple of recipes in cookbooks and online recipe boards, and came up with this recipe, which I think is pretty awesome!

I chose to use Tumaro's Healthy 8" Jalapeno and Cilantro Flour Tortillas (I love the Garden Spinach and Vegetables variety also). The fish I chose was grouper; nice firm whitefish without a "fishy" taste. I simply brushed a bit of olive oil on the grouper fillets, sprinkled with a bit of garlic salt and chili powder. A couple of quick flips on the grill and it was perfectly cooked in about ten minutes. Use one fillet per taco and figure on one or even two tacos per person.

Typically fish tacos are accompanied by a shredded cabbage slaw or lettuce salad. This was the fun part, experimenting with flavors and textures. I started the slaw a couple of hours before grilling the fish (so the flavors would blend well) and began with:

• a little more than two cups of shredded cabbage (cole slaw mix is fine)

and added

• eight cherry tomatoes, seeded and quartered;
• six pickled jalapeno slices, chopped;
• 3 slices red onion, diced;
• one green onion, sliced white and part of the green
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

The slaw is simply dressed with

• the juice of two limes
• three teaspoons of the jalapeno pickling juice.

Toss with the prepared vegetables; add salt to taste if you wish and chill for a while in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend.

For each taco, you may either chop up the grilled fish slightly and serve loosely, or serve fillets in one piece in a tortilla. Top with the tangy, crunchy slaw . I also like to add chopped avocado. The combination of the hot, smokey-grilled fish and the cold, crisp slaw is irresistible and it makes the perfect quick and healthy summer dinner al fresco with an ice-cold cerveza or of course, a frozen margarita.