I received a free copy of Southern Living Superfast Southern to review. All opinions, as always, are my own.
I’m back from a two-week blogging break! You may notice some slight tweaks to the look of the blog, and I have more improvements in the works. Today I have a great recipe for Spicy Fish Tacos along with a review of the new cookbook Southern Living Superfast Southern for you. Enjoy!
Spicy Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
Along with some delicious sounding recipes, Superfast Southern (Oxmoor House, $19.95) offers tips for cooking with speed, including a few I need to work on myself like “Keep Your Kitchen Organized” (I try, I really do!) and “Read Over The Entire Recipe Before Shopping” (yes, even food writers can make this critical error, even with their own recipes!). As for the recipes, there are snacks like Southern Shrimp Butter with Toasted Baguette Slices, salads like Blueberry Fields Salad,which I know I’ll be making soon, quick soups, skillet dinners, fast sandwiches, and even desserts.
I decided to make these Spicy Fish Tacos because fish tacos have been coming up in conversation between my husband and myself. Neither of us had ever had them, and someone told him that they had faboulous ones in California, but the ones made in restaurants around here quite honestly suck. Of course, I can’t tell you for sure, since I never had them, but it had gotten me to thinking I should try a recipe from another area.
The recipe calls for flounder, which I love, and the coating for the fish is easily put together. It’s really not all that spicy either, I think older children would enjoy them without thinking they are too hot. If you don’t have flounder, tilapia would be great also!
While the recipe says the total prep and cook time is 20 minutes, I believe they did not include the time it takes to chop the vegetables and fruit for the salsa. If you really need a quick weeknight dinner, I suggest making the salsa on Sunday and keeping it covered in the fridge for a few days until you need it. I used 1 pound of flounder fillets, and ended up with a lot more cornmeal coating mixture than I needed to coat the fish. Luckily, I realized it was going to be too much before I started dipping the fish in it! I saved the rest in a covered container.
- For the Mango Salsa:
- 1 mango chopped
- 1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the Fish Tacos:
- 6 6 ounce flounder fillets ( I used 1 pound, about 8 thin fillets)
- 1 lime (I used 1/2 of a lime, the other half for the salsa)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 1/2 cups plain yellow cornmeal
- Vegetable oil ,for frying
- 6 8-inch soft taco-size flour or corn tortillas , warmed
- Toppings: shredded lettuce chopped tomatoes, refrigerated gaucamole, lime wedges, fresh cilantro leaves
- Prepare the salsa ( can be made ahead):
- Stir together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F ( optional, to keep fish warm). Place fish on a shallow plate. Squeeze juice from lime over fillets. In a shallow bowl, combine chili powder and next 3 ingredients. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning mixture evenly over both sides of fillets.
- Combine cornmeal with the remaining seasoning mixture, stirring well. Dredge fillets, one at a time in cornmeal mixture, shake off excess. Let fillets stand for 5 minutes after coating.
- Heat 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a cast iron pan to 350 degrees. Fry fillets, working in batches, 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm in the preheated oven. Cut fillets into thin strips on chunks. Serve on warmed tortillas with desired toppings.
Very slightly adapted from Southern Living Superfast Southern
Nutritional information calculated without optional toppings.
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