Food Matters Project #19: Crunchy Fish Tacos with Chimichurri Sauce

It’s another Food Matters Project post!  I was very excited about it since it mentioned chimichurri sauce, which I have eaten, but never made myself.  This sauce originates in Argentina, and is a condiment which can be added to almost anything (steak, eggs, tacos).  It’s usually made from parsley and oil, but can also have cilantro or basil.  A perfect way to use extra herbs from your fridge.

This weeks host is Lexi, from Lexi’s Kitchen.  From Mark Bittman’s The Food Matters Cookbook, she chose Mixed Grill with Chimichurri.  Many of us change up the recipes from this cookbook, and Lexi did the same this week.  Check out her post or what everyone else made in their kitchens!  (The original recipe can be found on page 460.)

My biggest change to this weeks recipe was that since we haven’t had Mexican or fish (I’m not including the shrimp in the gazpacho) in some time, this was be a perfect opportunity.  In addition, I saw an awesome chimichurri recipe from Emily, of Em-i-lis, who I met at Eat Write Retreat 2012.  Definitely had to try it!  We’ve made Fish Taco’s with Sam’s Special Sauce before, so now a new version for everyone to enjoy.

 

Crunchy Fish Tacos with Chimichurri Sauce

Step 1:

red cabbage
radishes
green onions

Chop up all crunchy vegetables, arrange on a plate so everyone can add their own.

Step 2:
Adapted from Em-i-lis

1 cup (packed) fresh parsley
1/2 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño (optional)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Add all of the ingredients into a food processor, process until smooth.

Step 3:

about 1 lb fresh halibut
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
caribbean jerk seasoning

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a skillet and heat to medium high.

Meanhwhile, lightly coat fillet with olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and liberally dust with caribbean jerk seasoning.

Cook fillet on both sides for approximately four minutes on each side.  Remove from skillet and cut fillet into chunks.

Step 4:

tortillas (6 small or 3 large)

Have your tortilla ready (fried, toasted or warmed up) and arrange all of the ingredients.  Enjoy it with a cold beer or tasty margarita!

The Perfect Breakfast: Lox

Spring is almost here, and every year all of us are yearning for more sunny days.  Nothing says spring like a wonderful breakfast spread, while you’re sitting outdoors on your patio, enjoying the beautiful weather.

The perfect way to start a morning is by eating this:

There are no instructions required, you add what you want onto this sandwich, and how much you want of it.  This lovely image above has this:

Cream cheese:
*I made enough for a number of sandwiches, so there will be leftovers*
1/4 cup cream cheese
2-3 tbsp dill, chopped
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Mix all of the ingredients together, and spread it on the bread

Sandwich Ingredients:
rye bread
Boston lettuce leaves
lox
dill
capers
cucumbers, sliced

I’d love to know what your perfect sandwich is!

DC Fish Market

Every time I’ve driven from Virginia into DC on 395, I see the Fish Market on the right hand side of the highway, right on the water.  I’ve been meaning to visit it for almost over a year, and have heard great recommendations.  Feeling ambitious on exploring the city and taking advantage of a warm and sunny day, we decided to venture out of the house.

To enjoy the sunny day, we  decided to walk there.  There and back from the Penn Quarter area is about 3 miles, so it was a great way to walk off our lunch that we got there.

It’s a small area, but there are a lot of fish there!  It’s a little overwhelming at first to see what there is to offer- I had no idea that there were so many different kinds of shrimp (color and size).  First, we decided to walk around and explore what the fish market had to offer:

So many different varieties of shrimp!

We decided that next time, we’ll buy some of these Tiger Shrimp- they were huge!

In the end we decided to try some fried oysters and a crabcake.  The oysters were tastier, but there are many other things to try out there.  The place where we bought it from had a great lemonade-tea mixture that cooled us off for the walk home.

We didn’t end up buying anything to take home with us.  We would like to think of a menu and then buy it fresh and eat it that day.  So we’ll leave that for a future post.  Our first time there turned out great, we’ll definitely be back!

PS- Happy Birthday B* from Boston!!! Lots of love & hugs!!!