Oh. My. Goodness. Don’t these look and sound fabulous? Today’s recipe comes to you courtesy of Lisa Zehr. Lisa and I went to high school together and reconnected via Facebook. We attended school in California and would you believe she’s now in Texas, not that far from me? We definitely need to plan to meet up one of these days. In the meantime it’s been fun to catch up on one another’s lives on Facebook. She mentioned these tacos the other day and graciously agreed to share the recipe here. So with no further ado…
Fish Tacos with Cole Slaw – by Lisa Zehr
The first time someone suggested I try fish tacos, I was skeptical. I mean, really… fish in a taco?! Crazy talk! Luckily I will try anything once because I love, love, love fish tacos. I’ve worked out an easy recipe of my own and recently tweaked the slaw to include my new love: olive oil mayo. I hope you enjoy my recipe.
Slaw:
½ head of cabbage
½ onion, any color (I like red because it adds color)
1 c. olive oil mayonnaise
½ c. white vinegar
1 tbsp. horseradish (optional)
Sugar (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Fish:
1-2 frozen fish fillets per person, thawed ahead of time (any kind will probably work. I used Ahi Tuna tonight)
1 ½ c. panko bread crumbs
1 egg, room temp, beaten
2 tbsp. seasoning (I used Old Bay tonight with great results)
Enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a skillet. Don’t use olive oil.
2-3 Tortillas per person (I prefer whole wheat, but any kind will do)
1 avocado, sliced
Make the slaw ahead of time and keep in the fridge until needed. You will probably have leftover slaw.
Core cabbage and shred thinly, then cut shreds in half or your slaw will be difficult to manage in the tortilla. Thinly slice onion and add to the cabbage. Set aside.
You can use a large bowl to combine remaining ingredients, but I do mine ‘old school’ the way my mom and grandma did. I have an old mayo jar that I add the mayo, vinegar, horseradish, 2 tbsp. of sugar and 1 tsp. of salt together in and shake, shake, shake till mixed (lid on, of course, otherwise it gets messy). Then open the jar and taste. Add more vinegar, sugar, or salt as needed and repeat the shaking. Tasting is the ONLY way to get it right. Add mixture to cabbage and onion, stir to coat. Refrigerate till needed.
Pat the thawed fish dry and slice into pieces no more than half the diameter of the tortilla and about 1/2” thick. Add the seasoning to the bread crumbs in a shallow baking dish or pie pan. While the oil is heating in a skillet, dip the fish pieces first into the egg, then into the bread crumbs to coat. When the oil is hot, add several pieces of fish. They will cook quickly, so only about 30-40 secs on each side. Remove and set aside until all fish is cooked.
I buy my whole wheat tortillas fresh from Kroger so I don’t have to heat them, otherwise I would use the microwave to warm a couple of tortillas at a time on a plate.
To assemble tacos: Place 2 pieces of fish in a tortilla, top with a slice or two of avocado and top with a heap o’ slaw. Enjoy!
Ingredients
The finished product
Deanna asked me why I said not to use olive oil to cook the fish. I use olive oil almost exclusively for cooking, but when it comes to frying these fish pieces th oil needs to be very hot to get a nice crust and my panko crumbs burn in really hot olive oil. It's not impossible to use olive oil, I just have better luck with vegetable oil in this instance.