Baja Fish Taco with Mango Mojo Slaw

Baja Fish Taco w/ Mango Mojo Slaw



INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. Tilapia
2 each Limes (Juiced)
1each Orange (juiced)
2 oz. Arugula
8 oz. Red Cabbage (Sliced)
6 oz. Napa Cabbage (Sliced)
2 oz. Red Onion (Sliced)
2 oz. Red Pepper (Sliced)
2 oz Mango (Sliced)
2 oz. Cilantro (Washed & Chopped)
2 oz. Parsley (Washed & Chopped)
1 oz. Jalapeno (Seeded and Chopped)
1tsp. Cumin Powder
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 Tbs. Fat Free Sour Cream
2 ½ tbs. Olive Oil
4 each Flour Tortillas

METHOD:

Prepare the slaw no less than an hour before serving, you may even do it the night before.

In a large bowl place the cabbages, red onion, mango, red pepper, orange juice, lime juice, ½ tbs. of olive oil, 1ounce each of the parsley and cilantro and the chopped jalapeno (depending how spicy you want the slaw to be you can chop the jalapeno with the seeds). Mix the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to sit in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Marinate the Tilapia filets with 1 ounce of the parsley and cilantro, the juice of one lime, cumin, chili powder and olive oil. Allow the fish to marinate in the refrigerator for no more than 30 minutes.

In a non-stick sauté pan, add 1 tbs. of olive oil and allow the oil to heat up so the fish doesn’t stick to the pan. Remove the fish from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Place the fish in the pan and sauté for 5 minutes on either side. Once the fish is cooked remove it from the pan and break it up with a fork.

Heat up the tortilla and then add some of the arugula, red onion and then the fish. Place a dollop of the sour cream ontop. Use the slaw for your side dish you can eat 5 ounces of the slaw.

Grilled Watermelon and Herb Salad

I went to the Farmer's Market this weekend just to see what was available. The farmer's market is a great way to find not only great produce and herbs but you can usually get great deals as well. As I was walking through I saw some beautiful seedless heirloom watermelons from Mississippi. I am a huge fan of watermelon and after seeing these my imagination just started going crazy with ideas. Sometimes the best way to create a dish is to go to your local market or grocery store and just walk around to see what is available, this will usually get the creative juices flowing.

My dish was coming together quite nicely. I had watermelon, local honey, mint, basil and watercress. At home I had some pine nuts and goat cheese. I was going to make a delicious grilled watermelon salad with a watercress and herb salad, fresh goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. The dressing is going to be a honey-balsamic vinaigrette. This salad is so easy to make and is wonderful to serve for an outdoor party or even in a family style preparation.

I would serve this salad with a Fume/Sauvignon Blanc or a even a Chardonnay. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Yields: 4 servings

1 each - Seedless Watermelon

6 ounces - Goat Cheese

8 ounces - Watercress

1 ounce - Mint

1 ounce- Cilantro

1 ounce - Parsley

1 Tbs - Dijon Mustard

4 Tbs. - Honey

2 Tbs - Balsamic Vinegar

2 Cups - Grapeseed Oil

1 Cup - Pine Nuts (toasted)

Salt & Pepper

METHOD:

The first step is to make the vinaigrette. This can be done a day in advance and placed in the refrigerator until you are ready to plate the salad. First place the honey, balsamic vinegar and the Dijon mustard in a mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the grapeseed oil to emulsify the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.

Next prepare the watermelon for the grill. While you are preparing the watermelon you can go ahead and get the grill started (you want to make sure that the grill is extremely clean and hot). Alright, now for the watermelon. You can really do this however you like but for presentation purposes I like to cut the watermelon in 1/2" thick pieces and then cut out the center part with a ring mold. If you don't have a ring mold then just cut the slices into a square. Brush the watermelon slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the watermelon onto the grill for about 1 minute and then flip onto the other side. Once the watermelon slices are done place them into the refrigerator to allow them to cool down.

Now you are ready to toast the pine nuts. Place the nuts into a cool saute pan and turn the heat to medium high. You want to continuously toss the nuts so that they don't burn. Once they are golden brown they can be removed from the heat and set aside.

Last but not least we are ready to prepare the watercress and herb salad. Clean the watercress of any excess stems and place into a bowl of cold water. Add the herbs to the watercress and wash away any excess dirt. Remove the herbs and cress from the bowl and allow them to dry on a paper towel. Once the greens have dried you can toss them with the vinaigrette (be sure to leave some of the vinaigrette to drizzle around the plate).

For plating you can really do it however you like. I like to place the watermelon slice in the middle of the plate with the greens placed right on top. Drizzle some of the extra vinaigrette onto the plate around the watermelon and the crumble the goat cheese and pine nuts.

Now you are ready to enjoy!