Fish Tacos with Two Salsas

Dear Michelle,

Finally, here is the recipe for those fish tacos we made earlier in the summer. It's hard to remember, now, with a chill in the air and the wind rushing through my apartment, that not long ago light dresses and sandals felt perfect and nothing sounded more enticing for dinner than light fish with the freshest sweet-tart-spicy salsas all wrapped up in a fresh corn tortilla.


Although we made two salsas for these, and homemade tortillas, store-bought could be substituted for both in a pinch. If the pinch is laziness instead of timeliness, though, get over it; there's no comparison. Both of these salsas are bright and clean, with none of the bland-if-spicy taste of cooked, jarred salsas. Sometimes when I'm full but I just can't stop eating, I will make a taco with just salsa. Can you say that of store-bought?

Fresh tortillas are new in my life. My friend Amy introduced me to them, and I went out the next week to buy a tortilla press. Not as rubbery or crumbly as those available in stores (and we have a fairly large Latino population around here, so I'm assuming what we can buy is pretty authentic), these are soft and tender, far superior in both flavor and texture. Plus, not only are they fun to make, but you won't end up with 50 when you only need 10.

So, here goes, an ambitious first post:

Tortillas

Masa Harina - this is a particular type of corn flour which has been treated with slaked lime. The brand available around here is Maseca, which has worked fine for me.
warm water
salt (about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon per cup of dough)

Mix some salt into the flour, then pour in warm water in parts and mix till the dough is soft but not sticky. I always use more than is called for on the package. Dough should be soft enough to puff slightly when cooking, but not so soft that it will stick to the plastic wrap when using the press. Nothing I've read calls for the addition of salt, but it really helps with the flavor. If you've used too little, more can easily be added later.

At this point, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit while you make the salsa.

While salsas sit, start making the tortillas. Heat skillet (I use a cast iron) without oil till hot. Line a tortilla press with a large piece of plastic wrap, then roll a ball of dough a little larger than an inch in diameter in your hands. Place in press and press to about 1/8 inch thick. This should be very easy as the dough should be soft. You do not want it to ooze out the sides, and if it is, then you are using too much dough or pressing too hard. Peel plastic from dough carefully, and put dough on skillet. Turn once the underside has colored, about a minute or two. Wrap tortillas in a towel to keep them warm. While making tortillas, marinate fish (see below).

Salsas

Here we have two kinds of salsa, a tomatillo-tomato-avocado and a peach-papaya-avocado. Can you tell how much I like avocados? Salsa is one of those things it's impossible write a recipe with perfect amounts for. I'm going to approximate; so if you like onion, or spice, or whatever, add more, or less if you hate it. You can substitute, too. Hate peaches, but love mango? There you go!

This made a lot of salsa.

1/2 red onion
limes (2-4)
bunch cilantro
2 tomatillos
2 peaches or nectarines
1/2 papaya
1/2 red bell pepper
chili oil or hot sauce
1 avocado
1 medium tomato
1 clove garlic

(Optional) roast tomatillos over gas burner. I use fondue picks to hold them. You could use a bbq, or probably even a broiler. In any case, char the skins and then set aside to cool.
Finely chop 1/2 a red onion and divide between two bowls, then finely chop the garlic and add to one bowl. Zest 1 lime into both bowls, then squeeze half of it into each. This mellows the onion and garlic. Rinse the tomatillos under the faucet, rubbing off the charred skin, then chop and add to the bowl with the garlic. Chop and add tomato.

Now chop peaches, papaya and bell pepper and add to other bowl. Vary amounts of each as desired. Chop cilantro and add to both bowls, reserving a little for the tacos. Drizzle a touch of chili oil or hot sauce in both. Stir and taste. Add the additional lime if necessary, or more heat. Let sit to meld flavors, but the avocado is added just before eating.


Fish

Use any mild white fish, about a half a pound per person, more for heavy eaters.

About 5-10 minutes before tortillas are done, put fish in a large ziplock bag with lime (zest and juice), chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Don't marinade for too long, or you will have ceviche! I have a DIY vacuum-packing method: put the bag in a large bowl of water, sealed but for the very edge. The water will force the air out of the bag, allowing you to seal it with the marinade touching all sides of whatever it is being marinaded. That way you don't have to bother with shaking it, or flipping it, to make sure it's been evenly exposed.

Once the tortillas are done, add a little oil and then the fish to the pan, cooking quickly till it flakes. It doesn't matter if it breaks apart.

And finally, Tacos

salsa
tortillas
cooked fish
queso fresco
cilantro

Add avocado to salsas. Put fish and cheese in bowls. Dig in.



Ah, well, Summer will come again.