Succulent Talapia fish tacos cooked on the stove top served in soft corn tortilla shells.

Ingredients:  (amounts will vary depending on the number of filets you are serving)

Corn tortillas, fried in a small amount of oil or nuked…set aside

Tilapia, or any fish  (1/2 filet for each Taco)

Salt to taste

Lemon Pepper to taste

Corn Tortillas

Cole Slaw

Tartar Sauce

Tomato, diced

Avocado, sliced

Lime Juice

Hot Sauce of your choosing

Ingredients for Coleslaw:

3 cups Green Cabbage, shredded very thinly

3 cups Red Cabbage, shredded very thinly

3 Carrots, finely grated

1/2 Yellow Onion, diced

1/2 Red Onion, diced

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced very fine

1/2 cup Mayonaise

1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

4 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

1 teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon Celery Salt

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Directions:

Make the slaw by combining together all of the ingredients and mix well.

Ingredients for Tartar Sauce:

1 cup Mayonaise

1/2 cup Dill Pickles, diced

1 Tablespoon Pickle Juice

3 Green Onions, diced

1/2 Small Yellow Onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons Shallots, diced

2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground

1/4 teaspoon Tarragon

1/4 teaspoon Dill

6 drops Tabasco, (put as little or as much as you want depending on how spicy you like your food. I like very spicy and use a lot of very hot, hot sauce, but that’s just me)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, or you can use a food processor and let the machine do all the work for you.

Directions for grilling the fish:

Start the grill and bring the temperature to medium high (400-425 degrees)

Season the fish before cooking with Salt and Lemon Pepper on both sides.  If you don’t happen to have Lemon Pepper on hand, fresh ground pepper will certainly work.

Cooking the fish on the grill is quick and easy, but you will need a flat surface to cook it on, otherwise the fish will tend to fall through the grid when it becomes flaky.  My husband has a flat piece of metal looking thing that he purchased from his favorite BBQ store, I’m sure it has a name, but right now it escapes me…aluminum foil will work as a flat surface if you don’t have one.   It is made specifically for cooking fish or vegetables on a grill. It has holes in it to let the smoky flavor of the grill waffle through the flesh of the fish and works beautifully.

To keep the fish from sticking, oil the flat piece of metal with olive oil or you can us the no stick spray if you are so inclined. Get the metal hot to the point the oil is just starting to smoke, before you put on the fish. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes over a medium high heat, turning once during grilling. As it cooks, you will see the opaqueness of the fish slowly turn white on the side facing the heat. When it reaches the middle, turn the fish over. (my husband uses two spatulas to turn the fish to keep them from breaking apart) The second side will not take as long to cook as the first and will be done when it just starts to flake. Like shrimp, it is much better a little underdone than overdone.

Place corn tortillas on the hot grill just long enough to get warm with maybe some nice grill marks. If you aren’t using the grill, the microwave or stove top will work great as well.

This is the perfect dish for a hot summer night here in Georgia.  The Tilapia is grilled to perfection, the cole slaw lightly dressed and the tortilla is warmed on the grill, so there is no oil and no fat.  Sides of creamy avocado, sour cream and hot sauce are the perfect addition to this wonderful dish.  Fish Tacos with cole slaw and tartar sauce…ooooh how I love this dish!

(I don’t feel bad at all when I indulge myself in this dish…it’s amazing to me that something so good for you can actually taste soooo good)