My friend L is always joking that she makes tacos about three times a week. And to admit my own thick-headedness, it was a joke I didn’t quite get: tacos are so fiddly, with so many little pieces, and they always fall apart, and the tortillas never stay warm. I kind of had a lot of complaints when it came to homemade tacos.
But then a couple things happened. In my complete annoyance with this endlessly frustrating and fascinating question, “How do I make dinner at the end of the day when I am tired and hungry?” I pulled out my neglected copy of Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. I thumbed through the summer section; I picked recipes. Meal plan for the week: done. I had a feeling L might be on to something; one of those recipes was these tacos.
Then––and this is really the clincher––I discovered La Tortilla Factory. Their corn tortillas are sort of a corn-flour tortilla hybrid––the rustic flavor of corn, the heft and flexibility of flour––so they don’t fall apart, not ever, not even when you overstuff (which, inevitably, you will).
So I cooked up this recipe one night when tilapia was on sale, and friends, this is a bona fide weeknight solution. This recipe is very, very simple, and has quickly become one of my favorite dinners of the summer. It’s wonderfully fresh and super fast and healthy, to boot, but it also has only three elements that need tending to: the fish, which is grilled so fast, the creamy-kicky cabbage slaw, and the tortillas. The cabbage is so good. It’s tossed with lime juice, Greek yogurt, and jalapeno, but I think next time I’ll try using a bit of adobo from a can of chipotles to give this a deep, smoky flavor.
And by next time, I really do mean the third time in a week. Which is to say, I totally understand now where my friend L is coming from.
Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Lime
adapted from Everyday Food: Fresh Food Fast
Serves 2
1/2 pound tilapia or flounder fillets
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1 cup tightly packed shredded purple cabbage
2 limes (1 cut into quarters for serving, optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
4 corn or flour tortillas
Heat grill over medium high heat. Toss cabbage with 1 tablespoon yogurt, juice of half a lime, and jalapeno (depending on the heat of your chile pepper, this could be quite hot, so just be aware and use less if you don’t like things quite so fiery.)
Squeeze half a lime over fish and season with salt and pepper. Grill fish 2-3 minutes per side until it’s just turned opaque. Remove to a plate flake or cut into large chunks.
Zap tortillas in the microwave until warm. Remove, fill each tortilla with fish, cabbage slaw, and top with fresh cilantro leaves. Serve with lime quarters.
