Fish Tacos

For years I bucked the fish taco trend. It's no secret that I am more of a red meat type of gal. At the very least, give me chicken or give me death! Anyway, a couple of years ago I tried a fish taco for the first time, and found it . . . not half bad. Not on the level of an El Tiempo Taco al Carbon, but tasty enough. And then one day inspiration struck, and I saw the fish taco light: I was standing in the checkout line at Kroger (which was taking forever) and perusing the magazines, and there it was . . . Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods. And what was on the cover? So glad that you asked! Fish Tacos looking succulent, colorful, and utterly craveable. Needless to say, the magazine ended up in my grocery cart and then on my kitchen counter where it gathered dust for a couple of months.

And then my mother came to visit me here in Houston.

Frankly, after two delightful meals at Ibiza and Tiny Boxwoods, I was at a loss as to where to take my mom next. Benjy's? Too trendy. Houston's? To chain-y. Lupe Tortilla? Are you kidding? Who would drive us home after the margaritas? And then an idea so brilliant in its simplicity popped into my head: Why not eat at home? Yes! Oh, but what to eat? The answer was right there on my kitchen counter staring right back at me from beneath a thin layer of dust . . .

Fish Tacos.

I capitalized both the F and the T because the tacos we made were so delicious, so simple to prepare, and so perfect for summer that they are deserving of a formal title. There are fish tacos, and then there are Fish Tacos. These are Fish Tacos. Of course with Celeste and Carla in the kitchen, there were plenty of tweaks to the recipe, so, without further ado here it is:

Fish Tacos

• Boneless, skinless tilapia* filets (one filet or 1/4 pound per person)
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• coarse salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• one pinch of chili powder per filet
• 1/4 cup sour cream (the light sour cream works well)
• 1/2 lime (for the sour cream sauce)
• fresh tortillas (corn or flour according to preference), 2 per person
• 1 red cabbage
• 1 small white onion
• A truckload of fresh cilantro
• Optional: Peach Salsa (or other fresh salsa)
• Optional: Queso Fresco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry the tilapia filets. Place the filets on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush each filet with olive oil and then season to taste with the salt, pepper, and chili powder. Flip over the filets and repeat on the other side. Place the baking sheet with tilapia in the oven and switch the oven to a low broil for 5 to 7 minutes. When the fish appears to start browning and is opaque, it is done.

While the fish is cooking, use the juice and zest of 1/2 a lime and mix with the sour cream. For extra kick, add a dash of chili powder and/or tabasco. Mix well.

Remove the tilapia from the oven, and cut each filet in half down the length of the fish. Squeeze a little fresh lime over the top of each filet.

While the fish cools, thinly slice the raw red cabbage, chop the onion and cilantro, and warm the tortillas by your preferred method.

Place 1/2 of a filet in each tortilla. Top with sour cream sauce, cabbage, onions (as you can see from the photo above, I'm not big on onions), and cilantro to taste. You can spice it up with a little peach salsa or queso fresco, but I prefer it simply prepared. Garnish with a lime wedge and extra cilantro.

The whole thing is done from start to finish in about 20 minutes . . . now that is what I call an everyday indulgence!

My mom and I enjoyed these with black beans on the side and New Age White Wine (deserving of its own post), but a white sangria would pair well, too.

*The ancient Egyptians revered the tilapia fish (yes, there are tilapia in the Nile) as a symbol of fertility and regeneration, probably because the mother tilapia fish incubates her eggs in her mouth until they hatch. To the ancient egyptians, the hatching fish looked like they instantly sprung from their mother's mouth. Speaking of Egypt . . . Vote for me in the BudgetTravel.com competition!