Annalena goes Mexican: fish tacos with strawberry salsa

Carini, you know that we stick to the Mediterranean end of things here, be it southern French, Italian, or whatever we do.  Yes, this is where  Annalena's background and heart lie.  But you have seen forays into Asian cooking and Spanish cooking, and occasionally,  Mexican cooking. Well, we're going back to Mexico today, for a dish that turns out to be remarkably light in calories.  It doesn't seem it, but it is.  And strawberry salsa?  Did you read that correctly?  Yes, you did.  And it's good.  You should master it.

Annalena has a thing for fish tacos.  And it's hard to get good ones. REALLY difficult.  During her recent trip to San Francisco, she had a craving for them, and was all set to order the "halibut ceviche tacos" for dinner at Foreign Cinema, when Daddy P brought out a plate of them on the house.

Well, Annalena will not turn away from the blandishments of Daddy P, nor will she say "no thank you, I intended to buy them."  Of course, she was somewhat reluctant to share them with the Guyman, but that's what marriage is about isn't it?

Let's leave that question hanging.  So, with the thought of fish tacos in her mind as she came back, but with no clear vision toward making them, Annalena received what she takes as a sign.  She was watching one of those "can this restaurant be saved?"  type of shows, and the "star" dish of the kitchen was the fish taco.  Well, apparently, its star did not burn bright, as the repair person (Tabitha), brought in one of Annalena's favorite people, Susan Feniger, to improve the recipe.  Annalena watched very closely, and took from it, among other things,  "season at every step."

Yes, ragazzi, memorize that phrase.  If you make your dish and salt it at the end, you will get a dish that is both salty and underseasoned.  Trust Annalena on this one, you must season each ingredient, and at each step.

Now , that was a digression, but a valuable one.  Anyway,  Annalena began looking for fish taco recipes.  She found one, which used strawberry salsa, and this caught her eye.  Strawberries and fish?  Sounds odd.  But it is good.  And since, at least here in NYC, strawberries are "it" for local fruit, use em while you got em.   Let's make these, and enjoy the fact that each taco has only about 120 calories in it.    And you'll be able to make 9 with this recipe.

First, let's make the salsa, which you could easily use with something  else.  You will need a quart (2 pints) of ripe strawberries.  Chop them, after you've taken the green thing off, and add a chopped jalapeno pepper.  If you like things spicy, add more, or use the veins of the pepper.  Annalena did this in her food processor, which saved a whole lot of time.  Add a pinch of salt, a handful of chopped chives, and the juice of one lime  (not a lemon, as the recipe says.  Lime is more authentic).  Taste this, and if you want to adjust the seasoning, go ahead.  This is one that is open to interpretation.

Now, to our fish and tacos.  Preheat your oven to 450.  Your fish should be of the white type, skinless, or with edible skin.  Annalena's recipe called for halibut.  She had her favorite, black sea bass, which has an edible skin and that's what she used.  You need a good pound and a quarter or so of fillets.  Brush some olive oil on the baking sheet, and put your fish, skin side down (if it has skin), or smooth side down (if it doesn't), on the pan.  Sprinkle salt, and about half a teaspoon of ground cumin over the fish.  Again, you can vary the spice if you like.  Want chili powder?  Go ahead.  Or maybe something else? Yours to call.   Bake the fish for about fifteen minutes.

For the tortillas: you need the corn ones, the SMALL ones.  Not the huge ones that look like small tables.  If you want to cut your calories as much as you can, stack these  tortillas, sprinkle some water on the one on the top, wrap them in foil, and let them steam as the fish bakes.

OR, as Annalena did, get a nonstick pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil, and just let the tortillas cook on each side, for less than a minute.  All you are doing is warming them, really.  To Annalena's taste, this little "fry" step is very authentic, and adds flavor.   And as always, start with the best tortillas you can find (Annalena had brought some back from San Francisco, made by Rancho Gordo.  Would that she could get them here...).  Put them on paper towels to drain a bit.

Finally, chop up about two cups of some sturdy, light green leafy vegetable.  That can be Chinese cabbage, or romaine, or something like that.  You could also mix it your greens with watercress, or another cress, just as long as it's leafy, and soft.

By now, your fish is ready.  Take it out of the oven, and get a fork.  Just "scramble" it into pieces.    And we're ready to assemble our tacos.

Put a tortilla on a plate, and add a handful of greens.  Not that much.  Remember: 9 tortillas, two cups of greens:  if you've been generous with the greens, you'll have a quarter cup each.   Then, a bit of the fish.  If you do this one ingredient at a time,  you can be skimpy with fish, and then if you have some left over, distribute it at the end.  Finally, a nice spoonful of the salsa.  You'll have extra.  Put it at the side for those, like Annalena, who want more.

Take a look at that recipe, ragazzi. Where did we add fat? IF you do Annalena's frying step, you've added less than 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the finished dish.  No fat in the fish, no fat in the salsa.

Pretty healthy, huh?  Give it a try.  Annalena's favorite Mexican chef Sue Torres gave this her thumbs up.  What more can you ask for?