A Tale of Two Tacos

Bloated on road food from my trip south, I've got these cravings: "Summer-y!!", says my brain. "Fresh and grilled!!", say my taste buds. "Healthy. PLEASE.", begs my ever-widening ass.

So, to meet those demands and those of my wallet, we're revisiting an old friend, and making a new one. Note that these recipes use many of the same ingredients. I hate nothing more than letting that fragrant bunch of cilantro turn to a squalid, liquidy waste at the bottom of the produce drawer because I only needed half the bunch. The other nice thing is that if you like to cook ahead, like I do, you can chop lots of this stuff just once.

Today's new recipe up for review is, again, from Cooking Light:

Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

Ingredients

Crema: (I like that word: Crema. Sounds kinda dirty.)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Tacos:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
Cooking spray
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cabbage

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare crema, combine the first 8 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

To prepare tacos, combine cumin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic powder) in a small bowl; sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of fish. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 9 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place fish in a bowl; break into pieces with a fork. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each with 1/4 cup cabbage and 1 tablespoon crema.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 394 (14% from fat)
Fat: 6.3g (sat 1.5g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.5g)
Protein: 40.3g
Carbohydrate: 40.1g
Fiber: 5.5g
Cholesterol: 70mg
Iron: 3.5mg
Sodium: 857mg
Calcium: 233mg

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Do I ever do a recipe the way it's written? In a word, no.

I actually subsituted full-fat plain organic yogurt for the sour cream in the Crema. The Crema *licks lips suggestively* tasted just fine to me with the yogurt substitution. I also don't generally use the fat-free or low-fat crap the recipes often call for, because that stuff is full of filler and tastes like ass. So, to recap, full-fat real mayo, not that Miracle Whip shit, and full-fat yogurt instead of low-fat sour cream.

I really liked the inclusion of the lime zest in the Crema. Such a bright almost.. explosion of flavor. I probably shouldn't use Crema and imagery of explosions in your mouth... you'll think I'm not getting any. I assure you I am.

Also, since I already had the grill fired up for the flank steak, I grilled the fish on a Pam-lubed sheet of heavy-duty foil. Less than 10 minutes on a medium-heat grill, and it was perfectly flaky.

The fish? By the way? Not red snapper. Not at all. Individually quick-frozen flounder filets from Costco. Only $8-something a bag, fyi.

This recipe is going to end up in my "make for company who like fish" and "make for myself when I have fish" rotation. Filling, yet light and summery.