Halibut Ceviche

Hello my wonderful friends out there in Foodieland! I know I have been absent for a long time (it feels like forever for me). Lots going on in my life and unfortunately cooking took a backseat to most of it. I finally buckled down and decided I needed to get back in the saddle so I sat down to create a menu for the week. I had glanced over the store fliers and saw that my local Albertson’s had fresh halibut for $15.99 a pound! I know that seems like a lot even on sale, but halibut can be upwards of $28.00 a pound later in the season, and seeing as it is my all time FAVORITE fish you know I was jumping up and down like a little kid that just found the toy they want in the Toys R Us catalog!!

I finished up my weekly menu (which includes another halibut dish aside from this one) and hurried off to the store to purchase all of my goodies. I wandered through the store for about an hour getting other ideas as I saw the fresh meat and produce they had available. WOW I didn’t realize how MUCH I missed being in my kitchen! Then rushed home to get everything put safely away.

Last night I actually made two recipes.Carne Asada and the Halibut Ceviche. I will post the Carne Asada tomorrow. So the first thing I had to do was get the marinade going for the meat. You don’t want to get your ceviche going until it is about 3 to 4 hours away from meal time. Even though the fish only “cooks” in the citrus juices, it can over cook and be kind of rubbery.

A side note, I discovered ceviche on a trip to Puerto Vallarta many many years ago. They made it with a white fish and served it on little mini tostada shells (it was heavenly!!). So you can make this with any firm fleshed white fish you would like. I think cod would be nice. Since I can’t find mini tostada shells here in Western Washington, we usually eat it with tortilla chips, but stay tuned for Thursday’s post because I will let you know the fun way we mixed it up this time!

Halibut Ceviche

• 2 pounds very fresh (sushi-grade) white-fleshed ocean fish
• 2/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 6 tablespoons pineapple juice
• 1 or 2 serrano peppers,  finely diced (I used 3 small ones for a nice spicy batch)
• 1/4 yellow bell pepper,  finely diced
• 1/4 red bell pepper,  finely diced
• 1/4 tablespoons red onion,  minced
• 3 cloves garlic,  minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves,  chopped
• 1 tablespoon good quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Tortilla chips (appetizer) or tostada shells (for a main dish)

Cut the fish into 1/4-inch dice. Place in a glass dish with the lime juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, peppers, onions, and garlic, tossing to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add the cilantro, olive oil, and salt. Fold gently to mix. You can serve the ceviche in martini glasses for a nice appetizer.

Makes about appetizer sized servings

Food Star Friday – Guy Fieri’s Halibut Veracruz

Happy Food Star Friday all! I always get excited this time of the week. Not only is it FRIDAY, but I get to share the yummy recipes I have made from our favorite food stars. So many of us watch Food Network so much these folks seem like family to us. I really enjoy creating a little piece of them in my kitchen to share with you all.

So far the recipes for Food Star Friday have been a hit and this week was no different than the others. When I read over this recipe I was not too sure about some of the ingredients, mainly the olives. Now don’t get me wrong, I love olives, especially in a nice cold martini, but with fish? I just couldn’t imagine the flavor. But it was halibut and that is my hands down favorite fish (salmon runs a close second). So I was game.

Kevin was in the kitchen with  me. He didn’t prep the food for me but I think he was hovering to  make sure I didn’t chop a finger off given my track record for the last week. My knife and I were in the midst of a very strained relationship. I am proud to say I made it through the process with everything intact! So the relationship is mending.

I pride myself on the fact that I am pretty good when it comes to cooking fish, but I  had never baked fish. This recipe calls for a quick sear of one side of the fish and then flip it and put the whole thing in the oven. I was so worried it would come out over cooked since it wasn’t cooking right before my eyes giving me the opportunity to see exactly when the fish was fully cooked. But I put my faith in Guy and his abilities and did exactly as the recipe called for. Perfection!

Now I pull this lovely fish out of the oven and just as quickly as my excitement grew over the beauty of the cooked halibut, it turned to nervousness about how the whole dish would be received by Kevin. Since it was just the two of us for dinner, his opinion would hold quite a lot of weight in the review department. I carefully plated the fish, with some direction from Kevin about how he thought it would look best for the camera. He really is so very helpful.

Once everything was plated I stood back and before I could get a word out Kevin said, “WOW that looks awesome”! He was right, it really did. I do so need to get a good camera so  my pictures show how wonderful the food really looks, but for now one this will have to suffice.

I am very happy to report that not only did the olives taste good in this recipe…….the whole thing was FANTASTIC! It is on our “keeper” list and will be enjoyed many more times in my household!

Halibut Veracruz

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup thinly sliced yellow onions

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 cups diced tomato

1 medium jalapeno, diced

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons butter

4 (8-ounce) halibut fillets

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup Spanish olives, cut into thin rounds, plus 2 tablespoons olive juice from the bottle

2 medium avocados, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until medium colored, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, jalapeno, and white wine. Cook until wine is reduced by 2/3, about 5 to 7 minutes. While sauce is reducing, heat butter in a separate skillet over medium heat (I did medium-high heat). Season fish with kosher salt. When the butter is melted, add the halibut to the pan. Cook 2 minutes, then flip over and transfer pan to the preheated oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove salt from heat when reduced, stir in olives and olive juice. 

To serve divide sauce equally among 4 plates. Place halibut (1st caramelized side up) in the center of each plate, on top of the sauce. (I did it upside down). Place avocado slices on top of fish, sprinkle with lime juice and cilantro as  garnish.

Fantastic Fish Tacos

Fish taco’s became very popular in Ensenada, Mexico in the late 60’s. Being from San Diego, CA, fish tacos became one of my favorite things to eat. I will admit at first I thought they sounded a bit strange, but I was a teenager, what did I know? I knew I loved tacos I just wasn’t real sure about the fish part of the equation. When a friend of mine told me how much she loved them, I broke down and gave them a try. Boy was I HAPPY I did (This was the same friend that talked me into trying sushi…..she had great taste I am so glad I listened!)!

Fish tacos bring back a lot of memories for me. Growing up in a coastal community I spent quite a bit of my time at the beach. They have since built up the area that used to be my old stomping grounds, but the little taco shop on the corner is still there. It was so fun to spend the day swimming and sunning with friends and then be able to just walk over to the taco shop in our bathing suits and get our lunch. Beach towns are the greatest!

The original fish tacos are fried fish fillets with a white sauce, cabbage and cheese and of course hot sauce if you wanted it.  The sauce in this recipe gives you a little bit of that hot sauce kick without making things super hot. Like I have said in the past, we love heat in this house, well 3/4’s of us love heat at least. Jessi, Miss Picky, loved, Loved, LOVED, these tacos. She even saved the left over sauce because SHE said it was too good to waste…WOW color me shocked! I actually ran out of fish because everyone wanted to eat so many. Next time I will make sure to buy extra.

For anyone that hasn’t tried fish tacos let me say this. If you love fish, and a bit of Mexican flavors, you will love these tacos.

After I rubbed the fish with the spice mixture, I placed them in a screaming hot cast iron skillet coated with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil.

After about 3 to four minutes (you will see the fish beginning to turn opaque) I flipped them with a metal spatula. Be careful that the fish doesn’t come apart on you. I slid the spatula under very slowly kind of scraping the pan as I went. You don’t want to lose that yummy spiced crust!

This picture could have been better. This one was my  boyfriends and he loved the sauce so much you really can’t see the fish. But trust me, it looked good and tasted GREAT!

Fantastic Fish Tacos


Ingredients


For the fish you will need:
1 heaping tablespoon ground cumin
a good pinch of coarse salt
1 heaping tablespoon ground coriander
1 heaping tablespoon chili powder (preferably a Mexican chili powder if you can find it)
4 – 6 oz firm white fish fillets (I used halibut but cod can be used as well)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil ( a couple turns around the pan)
12 corn tortillas
6 oz Queso Fresco cheese or Cotija crumbled (or as much as you like, we like LOTS of cheese here)
shredded cabbage ( I used cabbage for coleslaw with the carrots but you can buy a small green cabbage and slice it thinly)
2 vine ripened tomatoes, diced

For the sauce:
1/3 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
coarse salt to taste
2 oz canned diced green chiles
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
(to reduce calories you can use light mayo and sour cream)

Into a food processor place the mayo, sour cream, lime juice, and cumin, puree. Once the sauce is smooth add the cilantro leaves and blend until combined. Set aside.

Set oven on the lowest setting and wrap the corn tortillas in foil. Place them in the oven

Remove fish from the refrigerator and pat dry on both sides. In a bowl combine the cumin, salt, coriander, and chili powder. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the fish making sure to coat evenly.

Heat a large skillet or grill pan over high heat. Add the fish and cook on both sides until the fish is opaque approx 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish fillet.

Remove fish to a platter or plate and flake it into nice large “planks” of meat.

Remove tortillas from the oven and fill them with the fish, cabbage, sauce, cheese, and tomatoes.

ENJOY

Makes 12 tacos

based on a recipe by Cookin’ Canuck

Grilled Fish Soft Tacos