Fish Tacos featuring Halibut...In Season Now

These fish tacos are stuffed with chili-crusted halibut chunks, a shredded cabbage, lime and cilantro slaw, chunks of avocado and drizzled with a warming orange juice chipotle sauce. The result is a very fresh and zesty meal.

According to our authorities at the Monterey Fish Market, halibut is in season and ready to enjoy. It is a mild white fish that is my personal favorite.

Health benefits of Halibut, according to WHFoods: "Halibut are truly a nutrient-dense food. A very good source of high quality protein, halibut are rich in significant amounts of a variety of important nutrients including the minerals selenium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium; the B vitamins B12, niacin, and B6; and perhaps most important, the beneficial omega-3 essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are so named because they are essential for our health but cannot be made by the body; they must therefore be obtained from foods. Cold-water fish like halibut are a rich source of the omega-3 essential fats, a form of essential fatty acids in which the standard American diet is sorely deficient."

Halibut Fish Tacos with Orange-Chipotle Sauce

The Sauce:

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle in adobo (including sauce) more as needed to increase heat
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Bring orange juice, chipotles, and vinegar to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2 quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a generous 1/3 cup, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

The Seasoning for the Fish:

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

Mix together in a plate or pie tin.

The Fish:
Aprox. 3/4 lb (about 1" thick) halibut fillet or steak will feed 4 people. I never think it seems like enough but it really goes a long way.

A fish steak is a cross-section of the fish, containing the backbone and any other bones that were not removed prior, whereas a fish fillet is taken from the side of the fish, cutting (filleting) the meat off of the backbone and usually attempting to leave out any other bones.

About 3 tablespoons olive oil

Rinse and pat dry fillets. Brush fish with olive oil then press each fillet into spices until completely covered.

Heat skillet over medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Place fish into hot skillet and cook undisturbed for approximately 5 minutes. Turn fish carefully and finish cooking. This will only take a few more minutes. It is done when it is turns solid white and flakes apart easily with a fork.

**Note that you have lots of options for cooking methods. You can grill the fish, broil it or bake it, whichever you prefer. I like to use my saute pan because it gives me the most control.

The Wraps:
Good quality corn tortillas

The Slaw:
1/3-1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro, rough chopped

Toss cabbage and cilantro together.
Whisk together the juice of 1 lime with olive oil equal to amount of juice.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss dressing and cabbage/cilantro mixture.

The condiments:
Avocado-a must.
Optional: I usually put grated jack cheese on my tacos. Black beans go well with these and also salsa. We've even included Spanish rice. Have fun and enjoy! I have served this for company and let people build their own with whatever toppings they like.

To Serve:
Slice avocado into chunks.
Heat tortillas over flame until warm but not crisp. If you do not have a gas stove or grill, you can place them in a dry pan (cast iron is good) to warm them (but do not get them crispy or they will break apart).

If you tortillas are thin, double up on them. Cut the fish into chunks (remove bones if you used a steak and remove skin) and place in the tortillas. Drizzle a little of the sauce over the fish, then add your slaw, avocado (and anything else you have in mind). Have plenty of napkins available and enjoy!

Patty's Grilled Vegetables over Soba Noodles

When you become a couple you inherit your partner's friends. In my case, I gained Patty and Todd. Todd is a Professor at the University of San Antonio. He does a lot of research and tried to explain it to me once but it was a hopeless endeavor. It has something to do with birds and the sounds they make.
Patty is a Labor and Delivery nurse, a dog lover, an avid reader, fluent in Spanish and a darn good cook. One year she gave Dylan a small homemade cookbook which, lucky for me, I inherited along with the friendship. The recipe that follows is one that is in her book (albeit with a few of our own modifications) and one that we love and I think you will enjoy too.

The marinade and sauce work wonderfully together. Though January is not grilling season I find that I can fire up the gas grill on days when the weather is sunny or cook the vegetables stove top on a cast iron grill. You know the type of pan where one side is a griddle for pancakes and the other side is grooved for grilling? It does tend to make a mess of the stove, so be prepared to wipe it down after the vegetables cook.

Patty's Grilled Vegetables over Soba Noodles

Step 1-Make the Marinade

1/3 cup orange juice
2 1/2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Step 2-Make the Sauce

1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 1/2 tbsp soy
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

Step 3-Gather and Prepare your Vegetables

These are the vegetables we enjoy but we mix it up, depending on what we have on hand. Feel free to use veggies you enjoy.

1 large or 2 small yams, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1/2 slices
2 baby bok choy, bottom trimmed and cut in 1/2 lengthwise
1 large portabello mushroom, or a handful of shitakes, cleaned, cut into thick slices
1 yellow onion, cut into thick rings
olive oil for cooking, about 1/3 cup in a small dish

Now that you have your vegetables ready, put them in the marinade and toss to coat. As Patty says, "Let the vegetables marinate until you feel like cooking."

Step 4- The Noodles

You will need 1 package soba noodles. The ones I use are organic noodles made from buckwheat, they cook fast, in 4-6 minutes, be careful not to overcook or they will be mushy.

Procedure

Put medium pot of water with a steamer bucket on the stove to boil. Steam the yam slices until almost done. Be careful that they are still firm and not too soft or they will be difficult to grill. 5 minutes should be sufficient. Keep the water as you will use that to cook the soba noodles in later.

Take vegetables out of the marinade and place on indoor or outdoor grill. Brush with oil, turn, brush again with oil and some of the leftover marinade. Continue to cook, turning half way through until they have nice grill marks and are somewhat soft. When cooked, vegetables can be put in a dish and kept in a low oven until the noodles are ready.

Bring water to boil. Add soba noodles. When done add the 1/2 of the sauce to the noodles and toss to coat.

To assemble, place a pile of noodles on a plate or bowl. Top with grilled vegies and drizzle some of the extra sauce over them.

Who Stole the Vegetable Tian?

Admit it, you steal recipes from magazines you find in waiting rooms. I know I'm not the only one because I've seen the half torn pages in the food section while I'm passing time in the doctor's office, the dentist's office, waiting for my car to be serviced... I feel a little guilty when I do it but something comes over me and I just HAVE to have this recipe AND the picture that goes with it. I try to be subtle, to make sure no one is looking directly at me, to crease the page well before tearing it and then quickly shoving it into my pocket. What I really find annoying is that after I've been waiting in the lobby for 30 minutes and finally decided that YES I DO want, no need, that recipe and just as I am about to make my move the nurse calls out my name. Rats! Or when the recipe begins on page 51 and is continued on page 123 so I have to tear out multiple pages. This can only be done by experienced recipe bandits.

So here then is a recipe, yes shamefully taken from a magazine. And sin upon sin it's Martha Stewart.

This is a recipe for Vegetable tian and it's one we make we make again and again finding

something comforting in the flavors. We serve it with a rice pilaf and a glass of chardonnay. It's soft but not mushy. The use of a food processor (or mandolin I suppose) makes the vegie prep quick. Allow an hour for baking.

Vegetable Tian

original recipe martha's, adaptations by drake and dylan

Makes one 9 inch tian, serves 4

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 leaks, white and pale green parts only, halved, fanned and rinsed well and cut into thin slices

2 garlic cloves, minced

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 medium or 2 small zucchini, unpeeled, very thinly sliced

1 medium or 2 small yellow squash, unpeeled, very thinly sliced

2 plum tomatoes, very thinly sliced

1 small Italian eggplant, unpeeled, very thinly sliced

6-8 crimini mushrooms, cleaned, thinly sliced (can substitute shitake or use a mixture)

1/4 cup dry white wine (I use a nice Chardonnay, you know, some for me, some for the recipe)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (can substitute 1/2 tbsp organic dried oregano)

Grated Parmesan, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Heat 3 tbsp oil in large skillet over med heat. Add leek and garlic, season with some salt and pepper, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Spread in a 9 inch gratin or round baking dish (a glass pie pan works nicely).

2. Arrange vegies on top of leek mixture in slightly overlapping circles, alternating them as you go.

3. Top with wine, 1 tbsp of oil, oregano, s and p. Bake 30 minutes. Drizzle with remaining oil. Bake until vegies are tender, 30 minutes more. Serve with Parmesan.

Oaxaca Tacos with Seasoned Black Beans and Lime Cilantro Slaw

We just finished having Oaxaca Tacos for dinner and we're both sitting here asking ourselves if there is possibly room for a few more bites in our already full stomachs. We've decided to split one more because they just tasted so good. You know that feeling, don't you?

The first time we actually had Oaxaca Tacos was not in Oaxaca. As a matter of fact, we were in Oaxaca in August and I never saw them on the menu. We were introduced to them at the Hotel San Ignacio in Belize. When we told the waiter we wanted something vegetarian he scrambled back to tell the chef and emerged with these wonderful corn tortillas filled with a mashed pototoe mixture. Honestly, I would never have put that combination together but I assure you, dear readers, it tastes great.

I can't remember what was served with this dish at the hotel, but we serve ours with black beans and have modified the filling a bit. Feel free to invent your own filling by adding various veggies to the potatoes.

I'm going to break this recipe down into 3 parts: the black beans, the tacos and the side lime cilantro slaw. But please don't be intimidated, once the black beans are made the rest is easy. If you do the beans in advance and freeze them you can just pull it out in the morning and use it in the evening for dinner.

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1. The Seasoned Black Beans
adapted from the oh-so-good cookbook: Hot & Spicy & Meatless

If you have never made your own black beans, try this recipe and you will never go back to canned. The aroma that fills the kitchen while the beans are cooking is worth it in and of itself.

2 cups dried black beans
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper to taste

First soak the beans overnight in a pot with cold water. The next day you can rinse away the old water and add fresh water to cover by 3 inches or so. Bring to a boil then add the bay leaf, oil, cumin, oregano, garlic and curry. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until the beans are soft. Add a little more water along the way if it boils away. Salt and pepper to taste.

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2. The Oaxaca Tacos

Gather the following ingredients:
3 large russet potatoes, peeled, quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - 1 1/2 cups grated jalepeno jack cheese
3/4 cup roasted corn
8 corn tortillas, thin variety
canola oil for frying

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put potatoes into a pot and cover generously with water. Bring to boil then lower heat to simmer and cook until potatoes are soft (aproximately 15 minutes). Drain well and while they are still warm go ahead and mash them with the butter and salt. Set aside.

Heat canola oil in a frying pan over medium-low flame. There should be enough oil to just cover the tortilla when frying - you may need to add more along the way as the oil is absorbed. Dip each tortilla into the oil for about 20 seconds on one side, turn and another 20 seconds on the other side. The idea here is to warm the tortillas to a pliable state. You do not want them to get crispy. Lay them into a pie pan and cover with foil until you have all 8 tortillas prepared. Or if there are two of you one can cook the tortillas and one can fill and roll them!

Now you're ready to assemble the tacos. Spoon about 4 tablespoons of the mashed potatoes onto a tortilla. Spinkle on some corn and some of the jalepeno jack. Roll and place into a 9x13 pan seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Put tacos in oven for 15 minutes until they are just starting to crisp up. While they are in the oven you can throw together the slaw.

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3. Lime cilantro slaw

Grab a small and medium sized bowl and the following ingredients:
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped coursely, large stems removed

1 lime

olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into a small bowl (or even a little jar). Whisk in an equal amount of olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of each).

Toss together the cabbage and chopped cilantro in your medium bowl. Add about one half of the dressing and toss again. You may add more if you feel it is too dry.

Take the tacos out of the oven and plate up a couple of tacos, a large scoop of black beans and the slaw on the side. Garnish the tacos with whatever you have on hand: a few sprigs of cilantro, some extra cheese, black olives... And enjoy!