Fish Tacos with Green Chile-Yogurt Sauce and Cilantro-Cabbage Slaw

I've been in the mood for fish lately, and decided to try some from my regular grocery store's meat and fish counter instead of driving through the construction-riddled hell that surrounds my local fishmonger at present.  I picked up some fresh Basa fillets for under $4.00 a pound.  Can't beat that with a stick!

I was undecided as to how I was going to cook these bad boys until I decided to make grilled chicken fajitas one evening for dinner.  I thought, why not throw the fish in a foil packet and grill it, too?  So here we are.

First I made a slaw of sliced cabbage, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice, and salt and pepper.  After tasting a few times, I tossed in a sprinkle of sugar to balance the flavors.

 

Then I threw a small can of diced green chiles into the blender with some homemade yogurt, a little cilantro, and salt and pepper.  I put the resulting mixture into a reusable bottle since it made more than I needed.  This is a good general sauce for tacos of all kinds.

The Basa fillets were seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and New Mexico chile powder before being wrapped up in their foil packet and grilled until flaky.  Make sure you don't overcook them- fish cooks very quickly.

Chunks of fish were laid out on warmed flour tortillas, drizzled with the green chile sauce, and topped with cabbage slaw.

Delicioso!

Greek style chicken legs

Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines are among my favorites, right behind Mexican. There are a lot of similarities in the foods of Greece, Iran, Israel, Iraq, and the rest of the Mideast. The things I like best include hummus, tabbouleh, pita, gyros, and shish tawook.

If you're not familiar with shish tawook, find a good Middle Eastern restaurant and fix that. It's delicious- chunks of marinated and grilled chicken shmeared with a thick garlicky paste, usually served over rice or in a pita. You definitely won't be getting kissed for about two days after you eat it, but it's SO worth the breath. (Seriously- garlic will come not only from your mouth, but from your stomach and from your pores.)

Greek flavors are easily accomplished without a recipe. One of my favorites is a simple combo of garlic, oregano, and olive oil. I made some grilled chicken legs recently with these- just sprinkle the legs with garlic granules, dried oregano, kosher salt, and fresh pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Refrigerate for at least an hour before grilling.

I often use garlic granules when grilling chicken or beef. It won't burn like fresh garlic will, and the taste stays a truer raw garlic flavor instead of the sweeter taste of cooked, which is not my favorite.

To accompany the chicken legs, I steam-microwaved a mixture of fresh veggies- bell pepper, onion, broccoli, asparagus, snap peas, and mushrooms. The trick to doing this is to microwave in stages. Tougher veggies like the broccoli and onions go in first; tender types like the bell pepper and mushrooms go in afterward so they don't overcook. My fancy microwave has a "Fresh Vegetables" button that makes it simple. You choose 1-3 cups and the timing is usually perfect.

I also made some white rice with slivered white onion added in at the last minute of cooking to keep a crisp, fresh oniony flavor that works well with the grilled chicken.

All in all, this is a quick, easy dinner that's full of flavor but not full of fat.