Wednesday, July 29, 2009

What's Cooking Wednesday: Fish Tacos with Kohlrabi and Summer Squash



Please go to The Fairy Blogmother for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

Tuesdays are always a bit of an interesting challenge around my house.

It's end of the week for our Tantre Farm share, and I never know what goodies I'll have to use up. Last Tuesday, these were some things I pulled out of the fridge early in the day:




What was I going to do with kohlrabi and summer squash, onions and cilantro? Well, having discovered a wonderful kohlrabi slaw recently, this seemed like a great base for fish tacos.

Fish tacos are one of my summer favorites, because they are so light and the textures can be so varied. I'm sure that actual Mexican cooks would cringe at some of my filling choices, but I love the versatility that tacos provide in terms of tying various ingredients together.

Obviously, I didn't have the fish, so I ran to Monahan's later that morning and got a beautiful piece of pollack.

When dinner time rolled around, I had an easy dish prepared in about 20 minutes.

Jen's Fish Tacos with Kohlrabi and Summer Squash



Ingredients:

1 lb. pollack, or other firm, white, fish fillet, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
8 small flour tortillas
3 medium summer squash, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium kohlrabi, shredded or grated
kernels scraped off of 2 ears of corn
1 cup of salsa, prepared or homemade
a few stalks of cilantro, chopped, plus a few sprigs for garnish
juice from 1 lime
1 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Saute the onion and summer squash over medium high heat in a 1/2 TBS olive oil until tender, but not overcooked. Stir in the corn kernels and the salsa. Set aside and cover to leave warm.

2. In another pan, heat a little olive oil (1/2 TBS or so) over medium high heat. Saute fish until the pieces start to be opaque. Add the lime juice. Cook until fish is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

3. Heat tortillas. The easiest way that I find to do this is to wrap them in a stack in paper towels and microwave them for 30 - 45 seconds.

4. Assemble the tortillas: place a tortilla on a plate, spoon the vegetables over the tortilla, spoon some fish over the veggies and sprinkle some of the grated kolhrabi on top. Garnish with a sprig or two of cilantro. Also garnish with sour cream, if desired.

Serves 4 - 2 tacos each.

4 Servings

Nutrition Info:

Amount Per Serving
Calories 413.7
Total Fat 6.4 g
Saturated Fat 1.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.3 g
Cholesterol 102.7 mg
Sodium 694.3 mg
Potassium 746.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 52.7 g
Dietary Fiber 7.3 g
Sugars 5.6 g
Protein 37.8 g

As always, nutrition info supplied by the recipe calculator function at Sparkrecipes.com.

30 comments:

Kate said...

Have you posted your recipe for kohlrabi slaw? Did I miss it? I'm looking for something new to do with it.

Luisa Perkins said...

To DIE for. Yum!

Eleonora Baldwin said...

FISH tacos, oh my!!! Very very interesting, Jen...
Big hugs,
Lola xx

Brian Miller said...

i staered clear of fish tacos for a long time...the thought just scared me a bit to be honest. until friend made them and what do you do when placed in front of you...try it of course. this sounds very fresh and good textures and tastes. may haps try it...

Mae said...

Fish tacos were the signature dish of so many Mexican places in La Jolla and San Diego that it was amazing. I think they are almost a fad in Southern California. From this, I gather Michigan is getting with their program.

anno said...

These sound delicious -- you know I'm always looking for a new way to use kohlrabi --thanks for recommending the pollack!

Madam Crunchypants said...

Beaker and I were just discussing Kohlrabi last night, since neither of us have ever had it. I don't know that he would go for the tacos, but I bet he'd eat a slaw, if you felt inclined to post that recipe. :D

noƫlle {simmer down!} said...

Looks lovely! You know, my mom always used to buy kohlrabi when I was a kid, yet I never think to buy it myself. I'll have to pick some up soon, for a little something different. I'm all about the slaws though- I just recently made a Vietnamese cabbage salad that turned out really well.

Unknown said...

These look SO good.

I still dont have my WCW post up today - it's not happening until tonight.

I am sorry you are having a bad day, but glad my blog was part of your cheering up. Sending good thoughts across the blogosphere.

Jen said...

Kate/Thalia and Noelle - I'll work on getting the slaw post up - it might not be for a bit, though, unless I can find kohlrabi at the market on Saturday.

Luisa - Thanks!

Lola - here they're becoming pretty common, as Mae said. Also, I think they're very popular in certain regions in Mexico.

Brian - I was with you until I actually tried them. Then I fell in love, so to speak.

Mae - I'm not surprised - both about SoCal and about Michigan, too - especially given our large Mexican population. There are really wonderful fish tacos at Cafe Habana, or there were. I'm sure the ones at the new Sabor Latino will be wonderful, too.

Anno - now we'll have to fight over it in the share. ;-)

City Girl - I look forward to your wcw post! And in terms of the day... just one of those days, but it was really nice to see someone being so POSITIVE! ;-)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Sounds delish Jen:D Hope you are enjoying your summer:D

Momisodes said...

One of the things I miss most about living in San Diego were their fish tacos! I haven't had one in years. This sounds wonderful!

Jen said...

Thanks, Val - it's been busy, but enjoyable!

Momisodes - that's what Mae observed, so I think they're still popular there.

Oh said...

such treats, these photos and recipes! It just makes me love summer even more. (and I know I've been errant in blogworld and missed it when you must have first posted your picture of the 3 of you, but it is so great to "meet" you!
inspiring as always!

more later, Oh

Jen said...

Oh, that picture wouldn't post for the longest time... then one day... it would! Thanks. And thanks for the kind words on the recipes. ;-)

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Oh that looks fabulously fresh and delicious! Love the addition of the summer squahs! YUM YUM!!!

Ivy said...

We used to eat kohlorabi a lot in Cyprus but only raw and it was purple outside. It wasn't known in Greece until a few years back and still I don't see it often at the farmers' market. The recipe sounds delicious.

Goofball said...

squash is rather uncommon here (we only get the normal pumpkins) and I kinda cringe when reading kohlrabi. dono't ask me why but I have this prejudice that I won't like it. What's its taste like?

Jen said...

Burp - thanks so much for the kind words!

Ivy - I've seen the purple version, too. Our farmer just happens to grow green kohlrabi. I'm becoming a big fan.

Goofball - Summer squash is actually yellow zucchini - it's not squash like pumpkin. Kohlrabi is something that used to put me off, too. I don't know if you've had jicama, but it's a bit like that, although less firm. Traditionally, it's used a bit like turnips would be, but I really enjoy it raw and shredded.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What a delicious combination! I love kohlrabi and tacos! Really appetizing...

Cheers,

Rosa

Jen said...

It's nice to find another kohlrabi fan, Rosa!

Jackie at PhamFatale.com said...

I learned something new today. I've never used kohlrabi before. I love fish tacos, gotta get some fish and make this dish.

Have you had time to watch amy's wedding toast?

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

That looks so good. I would love to get that kohlrabi slaw recipe!!!

painted maypole said...

here's a completely inappropriate comment... when we had moved to California my hubby had only ever heard of "fish tacos" as a way to describe a certain part of a woman's anatomy, so any time he would hear a radio ad for a restaurant advertising fish tacos (which was frequently) he would giggle.

Jen said...

Jackie - Yes, it was absolutely wonderful, and actually, I'm going to pass it on to Painted Maypole, because she works in the same field as Amy and would enjoy it. Thanks so much - sorry I didn't return and comment on it. And I think you'll enjoy kohlrabi.

Judy - I'll make that my next WCW post - this Wed.

PM - REALLY hard day yesterday, and this comment started my day off today with a smile - too funny!

peter said...

I haven't had a good fish taco since I lived in Oakland 15 years ago. That's a long time. If the sun ever comes out again, I should make these.

amycaseycooks said...

Fish tacos are a favorite of mine. I will now have to try them with kohlrabi.

They are so many possibilities with fish tacos - tilapia, shrimp, salmon, halibut, grill, fry, roast. They are always something different.

Anonymous said...

yum!!!! i had fish tacos at the black pearl in ann arbor one night, it's on their late night menu, and they were fabulous. they looked sort of like these...only these look BETTER. i can't wait to try making them. it was nice to meet you on saturday!

Jeanie said...

I love the idea of buying into a farm share -- I wonder if any of the farmers markets here near Lansing do it? I've never cooked with kohlrabi -- I'm not sure I'd recognize it in a crowd, but you inspire me! (Maybe you should be the next food network star!)