Fish Tacos With Chipotle Lime Cilantro Slaw Recipe 475

Steps:

• Catfish Tacos:
• For the chipotle cream sauce: Put all the ingredients in a blender, except the heavy cream and salt and pepper. Blend well. Remove from the blender to a mixing bowl and slowly whisk in the heavy cream. All the cream may not be needed. The correct consistency, is like a crema. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add more chipotle in adobo for more spice, if desired. Cover and refrigerate.
• For the slaw: Add the cabbages to a mixing bowl. Toss with the carrot, onion, cilantro, olive oil and lime juice, to taste. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well, cover and refrigerate.
• For the catfish balls: In a hot skillet, over medium heat, add the butter, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. As it is cooking, add a pinch of salt, cracked pepper, paprika and cumin. Saute until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Heat enough peanut oil in a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 350 degrees F.
• Remove any silver skin from the fillets. Pulse the catfish in the food processor until it is chopped, about 30 seconds. You don't want to puree the fish, just chop it into small chunks. Put the fish in a mixing bowl and add the cilantro, Creole mustard, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise and Jack cheese. Add the cooled onion mixture to the bowl along with another pinch of salt and pepper. Mix gently with a spoon, then gently mix in 1 cup of the panko bread crumbs. The consistency will still be wet, but still formable for the catfish balls. Put the remainder of the bread crumbs into a bowl. Scoop out the catfish mixture using a 2 tablespoon-size scoop and form into a ball shape. Don't make the catfish balls to be too big, they won't cook all the way through.
• Roll the balls in the panko bread crumbs, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Carefully drop them into the hot oil and fry in batches of 5 or 6 depending on your fryer. Do not crowd. Fry the balls for about 3 to 4 minutes. They are done when they are slightly more than golden brown. Remove from the oil and let cool on a paper towel lined sheet pan. Check the first batch to make sure they are cooked through. Repeat the process with the remaining fish mixture.
• Remove the chipotle sauce and the slaw from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature to remove some of the chill. Heat the tortillas. Stack 7 or 8 tortillas and wrap in a damp kitchen or paper towel and microwave for about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining tortillas. They can also be wrapped in foil and heated in the oven.
• Add 2 or 3 catfish balls, depending on the size, to a tortilla, and slightly crush them. Some people tear them completely apart, it is up to you. Top with a little grated Jack cheese, chipotle cream sauce and slaw. Repeat with remaining tortillas and fillings. Arrange on a serving platter and enjoy with a nice cerveza.

Steps:

• To make the marinade, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning, black pepper, and hot sauce in a bowl until blended. Place the tilapia in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover, and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.
• To make the dressing, combine the sour cream and adobo sauce in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning. Add salt, and pepper in desired amounts. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Set grate 4 inches from the heat.
• Remove fish from marinade, drain off any excess and discard marinade. Grill fish pieces until easily flaked with a fork, turning once, about 9 minutes.
• Assemble tacos by placing fish pieces in the center of tortillas with desired amounts of tomatoes, cilantro, and cabbage; drizzle with dressing. To serve, roll up tortillas around fillings, and garnish with lime wedges.

Steps:

• For the slaw: Whisk the lime juice, oil, honey, and salt together in a bowl. Add the green and red cabbage, red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro, and toss to combine. Cover with plastic wrap, and let the bowl chill in the fridge for 1 hour, so the flavors can develop.
• For the chipotle mayo: Blend the mayonnaise, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and honey in a food processor until smooth. Remove from processor, and set aside until ready to serve.
• For the catfish: Heat 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 375 degrees F. (For tips on deep-frying, see page 19.)
• Slice the catfish into 1-inch-thick fingers on a diagonal, and season with salt and pepper. Whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce on a rimmed plate. Stir together the cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper on another rimmed plate, and season with salt and pepper. Working in batches, dip the catfish into the buttermilk batter, then dredge it through the cornmeal mixture, shaking off the excess.
• When the oil is hot, gently drop the catfish into the Dutch oven and fry until golden brown, working in batches, about 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Remove to a paper-towel-lined sheet tray when done, and immediately season with salt and pepper.
• Place the tortillas on a plate, and wrap the plate with damp paper towels. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. (Alternatively, if you have a gas stove, turn the heat to medium and place a corn tortilla directly over the flame, to toast for about 15 seconds on each side. This will soften the tortilla and give it a delicious smoky flavor.)
• To assemble the tacos, place a generous portion of fried catfish onto the center of a warmed tortilla. Top with the crunchy slaw, and top with chipotle mayonnaise. Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro.
• ALTERNATIVE: GRILLED CATFISH
• Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
• Slice the catfish into 1-inch-thick fingers on the diagonal. Brush with a few tablespoons olive oil on each side, and season with salt and pepper.
• Grill the catfish 2 to 3 minutes per side. Assemble the tacos as directed.

Steps:

• Combine tilapia strips and 1/2 cup lime juice in a glass container. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours.
• Combine yogurt, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, hot sauce, and salt for spicy dressing in a blender or food processor; pulse until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
• When ready to cook the tilapia, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove tilapia from the lime juice and shake off excess. Place in a small baking dish. Discard the remaining lime juice.
• Whisk 1/3 cup lime juice, honey powder, avocado oil, cumin, and paprika for honey-cumin sauce together in a small bowl. Pour over tilapia to cover.
• Bake in the preheated oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare slaw: Combine green and red cabbage, carrots, and cilantro in a bowl. Remove spicy dressing from the refrigerator and pour all but 1/4 cup over the slaw; toss to combine.
• Build tacos by putting 1 tablespoon remaining spicy dressing on each tortilla. Top with tilapia strips, slaw, and tomatoes.

Steps:

• Mix the marinade ingredients together in a blender. Except the fish, as we're not making cat food.
• Pour the marinade into a big zip top bag with the fish and let it sit for about 30 minutes at the most.
• In a food processor, combine all of the slaw ingredients except the cabbage. Spin it up until you have a smoothish dressing.
• Pour the slaw dressing over the cabbage and toss to combine. Let it chill in the fridge until dinner is ready. Normally I would make any coleslaw a day ahead of time, but for this, I still want a good crunch to the cabbage.
• Mix the Masa, the salt and 1 cup of the water in a bowl by hand.
• Only add enough of the remaining water tot he dough so it is workable enough to form a golf ball sized ball that can be flattened out without it crumbling apart.
• Divide the dough into 16 equally sized balls.
• Break out your tortilla press and flatten each dough ball into a small round. Or if you're like me, break out the tortilla press, then break the press after the third tortilla and resort to parchment paper, a heavy pan with a smooth bottom and a rolling pin.
• Cook the tortillas on a med-high hot dry pan or an electric griddle for about 1 minute per side. You'll have to eyeball the time depending on how hot your "med-high" is.
• I followed Alton Browns tip on keeping my tortillas hot and ready by wrapping them in a tea towel sitting on a heating pad. Yes, I am that much of a geek that I have a heating pad in the kitchen.
• Get a large non stick pan heated over medium ready with half the oil.
• Place your fish in the pan, careful not to crowd the pan, and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. This is really up to you and how "done" you like your fish and also the type and thickness of the fish you're cooking. I look for just opaque in the center.
• Extract the first batch and cover with foil while the second batch cooks.
• I like the two tortilla shingle method myself with the fish on the bottom and the slaw on top. You can throw some diced tomatoes on top or maybe a squeeze of lime if you think it's necessary. I like to keep it simple.

Steps:

• Place the tilapia chunks in a flat dish and pour 1/2 cup lime juice over the fish. Cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the honey-cumin sauce by whisking together 1/3 cup lime juice, honey, vegetable oil, and ground cumin a small bowl. Set aside until needed.
• To make the chipotle mayonnaise dressing, place the mayonnaise, chilies, adobo sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cayenne pepper together in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
• To bread the fish, place the flour, eggs, and panko crumbs in three separate shallow dishes. Season the fish with salt and pepper to taste. Dip the fish pieces first in the four, coating evenly, and shaking off any excess. Dip next in the eggs, and last in the panko crumbs, patting the pieces to help the breadcrumbs hold. Set the fish aside on a plate.
• To cook the breaded fish, pour 1 cup vegetable oil into a skillet to 1/4 inch deep. Heat the oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C) over medium heat. Cook the fish, turning until all sides are golden brown, and flesh is easily flaked with a fork. Drain on paper towels. Brush the fish with the honey-cumin sauce.
• Mix the coleslaw and cilantro together in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chipotle mayonnaise dressing, and pour the remaining dressing over the coleslaw mixture. Toss to coat evenly with the dressing.
• Place the tortillas on a flat surface, and spread each with 1 tablespoon reserved chipotle mayonnaise dressing. Divide the fish between the tortillas. Top with the cilantro coleslaw.