 | | | Photo Susie Iventosch | | | | | | Generally speaking, fish doesn't excite me all that much, ever since dining on Friday night fish sticks as a young Catholic kid. In those days, good fresh fish was really hard to come by, especially in the Midwest where I grew up. But my husband and kids all love fish and nowadays there is an abundance of fresh fish available in the markets. Besides, my doc says it's good food for improving the healthy cholesterol, and so it's part of the diet. Salmon and steelhead are my favorites and the other day I found a beautiful, wild and fresh sockeye salmon filet at the market. My idea was to make street tacos out of it, but it looked so good, we ended up grilling the whole filet and serving the tortillas on the side to scoop up the Pico de gallo and the feta-yogurt cream. This could easily be an in or out of taco dining experience!
Deconstructed Salmon Tacos with Pico de Gallo, Feta-Yogurt Cream and Citrus Cilantro Slaw
(Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS
Fish
2 pounds salmon filet
2-4 teaspoons Cajun spice
8 mini street taco tortillas (for tacos or to serve on the side)
Place fish, skin side down on the piece of foil, large enough to hold the whole piece. Season the top side with Cajun spice. Place foil directly on grill on high heat. Barbecue anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on type and thickness of the fish and desired doneness. I cooked a fairly thin piece of sockeye salmon, so it cooked very quickly in just five minutes, but thicker fish will take longer. To serve, use a spatula to carefully peel the salmon off the skin (which by now is adhered to the foil) spoon feta-yogurt cream over fish and Pico de Gallo over feta sauce. Serve slaw and mini street tortillas on the side.
Pico de Gallo
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes (cherry or large tomatoes are fine)
1 cup (loosely packed) fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 small red or yellow onion, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, and finely diced
2-3 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus or minus according to your taste)
Gently toss all ingredients together. It's best to make this just before you're ready to serve it.
Feta-Yogurt Cream
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon lime juice
Place feta in a small mixing bowl and smash with a fork. Add yogurt and mix until well blended. Stir in cream and lime juice.
Citrus Cilantro Slaw
4 cups thinly sliced red and green cabbage
1/2 cup whole cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
Toss all together just before serving. |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA