Memories of Mexico

Having spent a significant amount of time meandering aimlessly through Mexico and working in Mexico City, I ate some amazingly fresh food there. Most people don't realize that Mexico is the largest supplier of fresh produce to the U.S. because of its proximity, wages, and year-round growing season. When you travel to Mexico, your fruits and vegetables rarely travel more than 2 hours by bus from the farms to the markets. Since springtime is here (almost), and it was clearly in full force in the French riviera, I had a hankering for something fresh and cooling. Yesterday was warm and sunny, I didn't even need a jacket while wearing a T-shirt. I also got out of work at a reasonable time.

Quintessential Mexican food on any of their beaches is fish tacos. These are not the bean and rice laden pieces of crap from Chipotle or Baja Fresh. These are pieces of lightly seared fresh white fish atop fresh tortillas and garnished with lime, jalapeno, and a fresh salsa. And so, a plan was formed for Fish Tacos with Mango-Basil Salsa. I served this with a dollop of greek yogurt to replace the crema fresca and firm avocado slices


First, I took the fish, about 1/4 pound of halibut from the fish counter because it was the only white fish that was marked as sustainable, and sliced and marinated it in the juice of one lime and one lemon with a little grapeseed oil and half a slivered green jalapeno. You could use any firm white fish, mahi, red snapper, tilapia, or even shrimp or scallops (which I think would have been better than the halibut). 1/4 pound of halibut is graded A- for nutrition and has 159 calories, 3.3g fat, 46mg cholesterol, 78mg sodium, 30.3g protein, 4% vitamin A, 7% calcium, and 7% iron.

Set it aside. The last thing you want to do, after the salsa and tortillas are done, is to throw the fish on the still hot griddle from the tortillas for 30 seconds before you serve it. The lime already has cooked the fish some in the same vein as ceviche, so you just want a quick stir and then take the fish off.


Then, while the fish is marinating, start chopping for the Mango-Basil Salsa. Now, I know a lot of people like to use a food processor or food chopper for salsa, but for something this fresh, I choose to chop by hand and keep the pieces chunky. This is a light nutritionally A rated salsa coming in at 31 calories per serving (and this recipe serves 4), with .2g fat, 0 cholesterol, 17mg sodium, 1.4g dietary fiber, 5.3g sugars, .7g protein, 12% vitamin A, 23% vitamin C, 2% calcium, and 3% iron.

Roasted salsas are just fine in the food chopper, but this is of a different ilk. Chop all of the following and toss lightly:

1/3 cup red grape tomatoes (quartered)
1/3 cup orange grape tomatoes (quartered)
1/3 cup red onion
half a champagne (ataulfo) mango
2 tbsp basil, roughly chopped
2 tbsp mint, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lime
half jalapeno with seeds, minced
1 large tomatillo, soft inside part taken out
salt and pepper to taste

Yes, I know. There is no cilantro. That is because I forgot to buy it. But this salsa still came out great. I love cilantro, but for those who don't, the basil and mint provide a wonderfully fresh zing without the cilantro flavor.


Wandering through Whole Foods peering at the lame excuse for corn tortillas they had (um, yea, real corn tortillas are not supposed to be hard and pre-made ... tortilla ladies, I miss you!). I will never ever buy pre-made corn tortillas now that I've figured out that they are super quick and easy to make.

Take 1/2 cup of masa corn flour and mix with 1/3 cup of warm water. Knead for a minute or so until it comes together. split into four pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Cover with a damp towel. It is super important for your dough to be moist and not too dry or else when you roll it out, your tortilla will not be remotely round and will taste hard and dry. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium high heat and leave it UNGREASED. Take two pieces of saran wrap or wax paper and put one down on a flat surface. Take a masa ball and put it in the center, press it down a little with the palm of your hand, then place the second piece of saran wrap on top. Roll it out thin and take care that the edges are not rolled thinner than the center. If you like gadgets, stop by a latin grocery to pick up a tortilla press. The saran wrap should just peel off easily and then you throw the dough on the griddle. Wait about 90 second (it should puff just a little), then flip. Keep warm in a towel. Repeat.

Each corn tortilla is just 53 calories with .6g fat, 0 cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 1.1g dietary fiber, 1g protein, and 2% iron. They are rated B nutritionally and are wonderfully soft and chewy when fresh and you can store them a couple days in the fridge. I personally would make them fresh each time. The beauty of it is that you can make just two or you can make 20. None of the tortillas broke when I piled on the toppings.