My husband went on a fishing trip last week to Lake Erie and came home with a heap of walleye. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about trying to figure out how to cook that much walleye in different ways. But he was so excited about it so we dug in and we were pleasantly surprised with our results! I give him credit because although I helped with the preparation, he was the fish guru and cook all weekend. We cooked walleye three nights in a row and I am posting two of the best preparations, this one and Fried Walleye with Malt Vinegar Mayo. For all of you midwesterners who follow my blog, just a tip that fresh Lake Erie walleye is fantastic! On our third night we had a lot more small filets and pieces so we decided to do a Blackened Walleye Taco and I came up with this red cabbage slaw to top it. It was delicious….really tasted like something you’d order at a restaurant in Key West or some other fishing town. I hope you enjoy!
Blackened Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Cabbage (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
8 filets of mild white fish (I used walleye and it was great)
Blackening spices — a combo of garlic, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper
8 small white flour tortillas
1 14 oz. can of low sodium black beans
8 oz. queso fresco or feta cheese
4 cups red cabbage, thinly shredded or chopped
3/4 cup red pepper, diced (I used mini sweet peppers)
4 green onions, sliced thin
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup plain greek yogurt
juice of ½-1 lime
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp honey or agave nectar (optional)
Directions:
In large bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, lime juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a little squeeze of honey if you like it a little sweeter. Mix in red cabbage, red pepper, green onions and cilantro; chill while you prepare the fish. In a medium sauce pan, heat black beans on low heat. Prepare a grill pan with tin foil and some cooking spray or oil. For fish, clean and pat dry each fillet. Mix equalparts of blackening spices on a plate or in a shallow bowl (appx 1 tsp of each – go light on the salt and the cayenne pepper). Brush each filet lightly with oil. Coat each filet on both sides with blackening spices (go light if you don’t like a ton of spice) and set on grill pan. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (appx 400 degrees). Place grill pan on grill and cook fish for 3-4 minutes per side (2 minutes per side if they are very thin filets) or until cooked through and fish is flaky. Grill tortillas directly on grill grate for 1 minute per side. Layer tortilla, strained black beans, blackened fish, queso fresco or feta cheese and top with cilantro lime cabbagemixture. If you like it spicy, add a little hot sauce!
*If you do not have a grill pan, make sure to clean your grill grate thoroughly. Coat a paper towel with oil and using tongs to rub the oiled paper towel on the grate a few times. This will prevent the fish from sticking.
