People tend to have a strong opinion about Gwyneth Paltrow...
{image courtesy of http://abcnews.go.com]she is kind of one of those actresses that people adore
or not so much.
I was slightly impartial to her,
although I always thought she had to be pretty cool
After she started guest staring on
Glee, I'm adoring....
So when she came out with a cookbook, I was admittedly intrigued.
Now that I'm a full time 'ama de casa'
{that's Spanish for housewife and literally what my Visa states my occupation as}
I spend much more time recipe hunting.
I found some sneak peeks of the cookbook on her
website/blog and discovered:
'Lee's Rocking Fish Tacos'
Matt and I have enjoyed this dish a few times and I thought sharing it would
be a great opportunity for ya'll to come on in to my
Colombian Kitchen.
We had to make a few slight 'alterations' due to our location,
but it's a delish summer dish.
Here's the ingredients
A few things to note...
*The first ingredient on this recipe is a "bunch of cilantro". I was pretty much sold from that point on...
*You may or may not notice that there is no fish in this picture for the fish tacos. Well, surprisingly fish seems to be a difficult thing to get around here. Don't get me wrong... they have fish, but 1) we are unfamiliar with the pescado variety here 2) they sell it with its head, eyes, & bones. I love fish and we got used to eating it often living on the Gulf Coast, but I am not the girl who 'filets' her own fish. So I substitute with shrimp {yep, that's frozen shrimp... Haven't seen any fresh shrimp either}
*This recipe does not actually call for avocado or tomato. However, when I hear 'taco' I think guacamole.
Combine cilantro, lime juice
{don't you just love my lime juicer thing-a-ma-bob... I do}
olive oil, onion, garlic, chili, garlic powder, cumin, & paprika in a blender
{another alteration, our access to spices is limited... so I make due and try to substitute when possible}
with a pinch of salt
Puree until thoroughly combined & smooth.
Take a few moments to prepare your condiments...
{we ate our rocking shrimp tacos with some good ole' cheddar. Cheese is another thing that is hard to get here and when you find good cheese you pay a pretty penny (or peso) for it. But due to my appropriate obsession with cheese, it's a price I'm willing to pay}
Now focus on your fish {or shrimp}
Cook over some olive oil and when ready add the wine & cook until evaporated
{a great excuse to have a glass of wine while cooking is actually using it as a recipe. Unfortunately this particular bottle of white wasn't the most enticing bottle I've ever taken the cork out of... SO excited for some Cakebread in a few short months}
Pour over the cilantro mixture and cook for just a few minutes to 'let the flavors say Hello'
{that's straight from the recipe and a great line if I do say so myself}
Serve immediately....
Bon Appetite
Here's the recipe for Lee's Rocking Fish Tacos:
Serves: 8
- A bunch of cilantro
- Juice of 5 limes
- 1/3 cup of olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
- 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 jalapeño or 3 red fresno chili peppers, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- Coarse salt
- 2 pounds halibut, finely diced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup white wine
Combine the cilantro, lime juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, onion, garlic, chili, garlic powder, cumin and paprika together in a blender with a large pinch of salt and puree until thoroughly combined and smooth. Set the mixture aside. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot and add the halibut. Cook, stirring now and then, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour over the reserved cilantro mixture, stir gently just to combine and cook for just another minute to let all the flavors say hello. Serve immediately with deep-fried flour tortillas, crema fresca (or sour cream), cotija cheese, and a fresh pico de gallo with chunks of avocado (mix equal parts diced tomatoes and avocado and then season with salt, pepper, fresh cilantro, lime and diced red onion).
