Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos with Slaw and Chipotle-Lime Cream

Those of you who read my blog in the past probably know this, but in 2/12 years of recipe blogging, I don't think I had a single recipe from the Mexican Food genre.  Its not that I didn't like Mexican Food, I just liked it in the moderate kind of way that lots of people like it.  I associated "tacos" with ground beef, shredded lettuce and pre-fab, grocery store crispy taco shells.  I associated burritos with Chipotle.  I didn't like beans of any kind.  And I wished that I could like corn tortillas, but didn't.  And enchiladas were only a vehicle for an unhealthy amount of cheese!

And then I met Jeff Lingle...  Our wedding invitations had the phrase, "It all started with some chips and salsa" on the front and it is true.  There used to be a Mexican restaurant next to my office and my co-workers and I would occasionally order some of their chips and green salsa (Same salsa I tried to re-create at home in THIS post from 2010).  I offered some to Jeff once when he was at the office working on our computers and a few weeks later he asked me out on our first date.  That first date included some Frisbee golf and a Mexican restaurant.  Shortly after, he introduced me to real, quality corn tortillas that you fry up at home for proper, crispy taco shells and delicious home-made re-fried beans.  A bit later, I got him a tortilla press and taco holders for a couple of birthdays.  My sister-in-law, Julie, taught me how to make authentic enchilada sauce from scratch.  And it has gone on from there...

I can honestly say that I have really fallen in love with Mexican Food.  After we got married and moved up here to Highlands Ranch, I set up the "Mexi-Cabinet" in our kitchen.  It has our tortilla press, tortilla warmer, plastic taco holders, metal taco holders, tortilla bowl molds and yes, a tub of lard!

Needless to say, we're into Mexican Food in the Lingle House!  Last weekend Jeff and I braved the grand opening weekend of Trader Joe's in Colorado.  Among some other treats, we picked up some of their corn tortillas and Wild-Caught Mahi Mahi and I tried out a new recipe last night for some fish tacos.  This is a marrying of several recipes that I found online that looked tasty and I took pieces from all of them.  So here you go!  (It sort of looks like a lot of work, but didn't take long at all...)

Marinade

1/4 c Canola oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar (regular white would probably be fine too)
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
1 tsp Sugar
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Chili Powder (My favorite is chipotle for the smoky flavor)
1/2 tsp Pepper
- Whisk ingredients until sugar is dissolved and cover 1 pound of white fish in a bowl or ziplock bag.  Marinade at least 30 minutes. No longer than a couple of hours. (I know the tortilla pic has nothing to do with marinade!  Just wanted to show off the Trader Joe's package!)

Slaw
1 1/2 cups Red Cabbage, sliced thin
1/2 cup Red Onion, sliced thin
Handful of Cilantro, roughly chopped
Jalapeno, seeded & diced (optional)
1 Tbsp Canola oil
2 Tbsp Rice vinegar
1 tsp Sugar or Honey
Juice of 1 Lime
- Mix oil, vinegar, sugar and lime juice and toss with the veggies.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Chipotle-Lime Cream
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Zest & Juice of 1 Lime
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder
- Mix these together and taste.  Increase anything you want more flavor in.  Don't worry if it seems a little runny.  This actually seems to thicken up a bit after sitting for a few minutes

Optional
Sliced Avocado
Cherry Tomatoes
Feta Cheese

We grilled the Mahi-Mahi and toasted the corn tortillas without oil in a cast iron skillet.  Turned out really delicious!


Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
(And if you're in Colorado and you've never been to one, come up to Denver and we can go to Trader Joe's and buy my favorite Dark Chocolate covered Almonds with Turbinado Sugar & Sea Salt!)