Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos & Mango Avocado Salsa

Happy Memorial Day!  Happy Unofficial, but every knows real deal, start of Summer!  (The technical first day of summer, for all you PC-lovers out there is June 20th).  But let's be honest here.  Summer and everything that embodies it - BBQ's, outside drinking games, picnics, lakes, tans - Summer.  Officially.  Starts.  Today.  I am quite literally humming with excitement.

Actually, singing.  Cause that is what I do.  In the summertime, I sing oldies.  Because summer belongs to the golden oldies.  Trust me on this one.  Just this morning, it was a verse of In the Summertime, which went into the whistling from Dock of the Bay, and ended in a little ditty about Jack and Diane.  It was wonderful.  I am so ready for some sunshine, some water, a lazy round of beersbee, and, oh yeah, fish tacos.  Ready or not, Summer, here we come.

In the summertime, when the weather is hot

you can reach right up and touch the sky

When the weather's fine, you got women

you got women on your mind. 

Have a drink, have a drive,

Go out and see what you can find.

P.S. - This was so me on Friday.  And quite literally I checked it at 3:12 PM Friday afternoon.  It feels nice to feel so connected to someone feeling the Exact. Same. Way.  Camaraderie.  I love the internet.  Well, sometimes.  I love three day start of summer weekends all the time though.  Hope yours was fantastic!

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos & Mango Avocado Salsa

Adapted, hardly, from Cooking Light's.... 

YUM!  These guys right here is how you want to start your summer.  They take less than 30 minutes to throw together, they are cool and spicy,  and you can eat them with your hands.  Plus, they taste especially great washed down with a cold beer.  And the mango salsa?!?  FANTASTIC.  Make extra.  And then eat like you would any salsa, on tortilla chips.  And it will totally disappear before nightfall.  The tart mango with the smooth avocado?  I don't even like avocado that much and I'm telling you.  YES.  Make these.  Tonight.  Have a cerveza.  Toast Summer.

(These guys, in case you were wondering, are totally 100% BGCB material)

Mango Avocado Salsa:
1 medium mango, peeled and cubed
1 medium mango, pitted and cubed
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno, diced
5-10 sprigs of cilantro, chopped, no stems
1 1/2 limes (for juice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Juice limes over avocado (this will help with keeping the avocado green and not brown).  Toss all ingredients together.  Let sit 10 minutes so flavors marry.

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos:
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 lb. tilapia fillets
1 Tbsp. canola oil

In large skillet over medium heat, toast cumin seeds for 2 minutes until fragrant.  Shake pan often to keep from burning.  In spice grinder, grind cumin with salt and peppers until finely ground.  (Leave a comment if you want a tip on how to clean out the spice/coffee grinder afterwards!)  Add cumin mixture to garlic and use as dry rub on tilapia fillets. Let sit 5-10 minutes.

Return skillet to burner and heat oil over a medium high flame.  Add tilapia and pan fry for 2 minutes.  Flip and cook for 2 minutes more, or until fish is cooked throuogh.  Remove and flake into large bite sized pieces.

Warm corn tortillas.  Lay a few chunks of fish and cover with mango avocado salsa.  Eat, drink, repeat!

Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia

 I was so excited to cook dinner when I got home today, I didn't even open the package I finally got from Amazon today containing a brand new cookbook.  This coming from the girl who will sit and read cookbooks for hours.  Do you see the love and commitment here?

Or maybe I was just hungry.  Once again, I stuck with the familiar and something that has been in my big green cookbook for awhile.  I made this dish several times over when I lived in McAllen, where cilantro was plentiful and cheap, but have touched it only once since moving to South Carolina.  I've made it so many times that I have the recipe memorized.  Which also explains why when I was wandering the grocery last Saturday, I picked up a bunch of cilantro.

Yum, cilantro.  Have you ever noticed that there are two camps when it comes to cilantro?  You either love it or hate it, there are very few, if any people straddling the fence on this one.  Julia Child, for all of her amazingness, thought it tasted like feet.  Like feet!  Julia Child!  Even more surprising, she's wrong.  Cilantro is good.  Cilantro is fantastic.  Know what makes cilantro even more fantastic?  Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce.

I could write a whole other paragraph about the wonderfulness of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  Alas, another time, another post.  But get yourself a can soon, ok?  Can you tell how much I love this recipe yet?

I won't lie to you, it doesn't come out of the oven the prettiest thing in the world.  I'm not even sure how to go about making it come out pretty.  When you pull it out from other the broiler, it'll likely be black, look burnt.  It's not!  Just wait until you break into it, the tilapia is going to be white, flaky and moist underneath.  The coating delicious, slightly cilantro-y and perfectly smokey and hot from the chipotle and cumin.  Forewarning for the faint of tongue though, the chipotles are going to pack some heat, the kind of heat that stays a bit to hang out.  You've been warned!!

Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia

1 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. chopped canned chipotles in adobo
1 Tbsp. Water
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and Pepper
4 tilapia filets

Preheat broiler and line rack of broiler pan with foil.

Puree cilantro, oil, chipotles, water, cumin, salt and pepper until smooth.  Coat tilapia filets completely with sauce.

Broil fish 3 to 4 inches from element until just cooked through, about 6 to 9 minutes.