Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Fish Tacos

When the Hewitt family came to visit us in Kauai they took over the kitchen and served up some extremely tasty meals. This one, from Leslie and Matt, was such a big hit we did it twice, using a Pacific Ocean fish (mahi mahi and opakapaka). The sauce is also excellent on crab cakes (from Costco) or thinned with a little rice wine vinegar for salad dressing.

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1 tablespoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons tequila
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons warm water
1 pound halibut fillets or fish of your choice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Sauce:
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise or Veganese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce (about 1 chile), more or less to taste. I remove the seeds from the chile but add a little of the adobo sauce.

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups trimmed arugula

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add halibut to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove halibut from bag; discard marinade. Pat halibut dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add halibut; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Break fish into chunks.
Combine mayonnaise, cilantro, juice, and chipotle.
Warm tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each tortilla with 1/4 cup arugula and about 2 teaspoons mayonnaise mixture. Fold in half.