Banjo
07-29-2010, 10:27 AM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2010%2F07%2F25%2FFDK21EF4 EI.DTL
Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
41 .143 .0 ..Craig Lee / Special to The Chronicle
Baja-Style Fish Tacos Craig Lee / Special to The Chronicle; styling by Natalie Knight
.
Images - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/07/25/FDK21EF4EI.DTL&o=
There were a few traditions growing up in San Diego.
When the surf was up, you dropped whatever you were doing and headed to the beach. When the grunions were running, you dropped whatever you were doing and headed to the beach. And when you had a hankering for fish tacos, you dropped whatever you were doing and headed to the beach.
Surfers, college kids and tourists brought their enthusiasm for the tangy seafood treat smothered in cabbage slaw and cilantro mayonnaise back from their vacations in Mexico's Baja Peninsula. So it didn't take long for the tacos to migrate across the border to tiny fish shacks and taquerias along the coast.
Now it seems that fish tacos have become as much a part of California cuisine as goat cheese pizzas and heirloom tomato salads. They're no longer exclusive to seafood joints and taco shops. They're showing up on menus everywhere - especially in the Bay Area.
At the California-style Chow restaurants in San Francisco and the East Bay, fish tacos are served under the sandwich category. At 21st Amendment, a San Francisco brew pub, they're served with potato chips and, of course, beer. At Dish, a comfort-food restaurant in Mill Valley, they're the Sunday special. At Luella, a stylish Russian Hill establishment, they're prepared tartare.
"They've become the new comfort food," says Joe Hargrave, owner of Tacolicious, a Marina district taqueria that has a couple of versions of fish tacos on its menu (see recipe). "I think it's all part of the evolution of Mexican cuisine, which has now become our go-to food."
For chef Lorenzo Kersevan of 21st Amendment it's simple.
"Fish tacos go really well with beer," and that's what the brew pub is in the business of selling. Kersevan particularly likes his fish tacos - made from rock cod coated in a little rice flour, salt and pepper and lightly fried (see recipe) - with wheat beers and lighter lagers.
"Putting them on the menu was a no-brainer," he says. "It's a simple food and easy to prepare. The fish here is fresh, caught right outside the bay, and most of my workforce is Latino."
While his fish recipe stays mostly the same, sometimes the restaurant serves the filling in flour tortillas - a staple of many of his employees who come from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula - other times in two layers of corn tortillas, more a Baja tradition.
Nick Fasanella, the onetime proprietor of Nick's Crispy Tacos in San Francisco who now owns the Taco Shop @ Underdogs in the Sunset neighborhood, grew up in Connecticut with tacos made from store-bought crispy shells, ground beef, taco seasoning, shredded iceberg lettuce and grated cheese.
But on a trip to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, a friend's mom taught him how to make a "real" taco with fresh fish. As he traveled through Baja, he paid special attention to the really good ones, adapting those recipes with his own stamp when he came back to the States.
"Ten years ago you couldn't find them in the Bay Area," he says. "Mexican food was an afterthought. Everyone seemed content with the Mission burrito."
So why fish tacos now?
"The truth is I don't know why it's gotten so big here," he says, guessing that it was only a matter of time before people discovered "how delicious they are."
"The beauty of the fish taco is you can't screw it up as long as you have a nice piece of fish and nice tortillas," says Fasanella, who gets his tortillas from La Palma Mexicatessen in San Francisco's Mission District. He says for an authentic Baja fish taco, a 4 3/4-inch diameter corn tortilla is best. His trick: Dip the tortilla in 3 cups of water and just enough vegetable oil (about 3 tablespoons) so that the top of the water glistens. Then throw the tortilla on a griddle.
While cod seems to be the fish of choice by most Bay Area chefs, Fasanella is partial to mahi mahi (see recipe) or local albacore. "Cod is a little too delicate," he says.
"In Mexico, they use shark," he says. "But California halibut and even striped bass make a great fish taco, too."
Dish's chef, Derek Belanger, sticks with cod because, he says, "the flavors are so bright and vivid."
Originally he added fish tacos (see recipe) to the menu because fresh fish is so readily available in the Bay Area and the bulk of his staff, as at 21st Amendment, is of Mexican heritage. The fact that the tacos sold like hot cakes confirmed that it was a good move.
"They're also really fun and so evocative of summer and the beach," he says.
Belanger says he never thought anything could compete with a cheeseburger, his favorite food. But the fish taco may be bumping it out of first place. And he's from Detroit, where the surf's never up and the grunions never run.
Chow, 215 Church St., S.F.; (415) 552-2469. Also in Danville, Lafayette and Park Chow in San Francisco.
Dish, 507 Miller Ave., Mill Valley; (415) 388-3474
La Palma Mexicatessen, 2884 24th St., S.F.; (415) 647-1500
Luella, 1896 Hyde St., S.F.; (415) 674-4343
Taco Shop @ Underdogs, 1824 Irving St., S.F.; (415) 566-8700
Tacolicious, 2031 Chestnut St., S.F.; (415) 346-1966
21st Amendment, 563 Second St., S.F.; (415) 369-0900
Wines for seafood
Fish is the main ingredient in this week's taco recipes and seafood stew, but for pairing wines the garnishes are key. Wines with relatively low alcohol levels, refreshing flavors and occasionally a little sweetness go the distance with these dishes.
Try nicely chilled Vinho Verde, Vouvray, Pinot Gris or an Arnold Palmer cocktail. Or stick with taco's tried-and-true beverage - an ice cold beer, preferably a light lager.
- Lynne Char Bennett
Dish Fish Tacos
Serves 6, 3 tacos per person
This recipe is from Derek Belanger, executive chef of Dish in Mill Valley. The onions and crema can be made ahead.
Pickled onions:
1 teaspoon pickling spice mix
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small red onion, halved then thinly sliced
Chipotle crema:
1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
1 teaspoon finely chopped chipotle chiles en adobo
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Roasted tomato salsa:
1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 meaty, medium-size tomatoes, such as Romas
1/2 chipotle chile en adobo
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
-- Juice of 1/2 lime
-- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Fish:
36 ounces true cod or other sustainable firm white fish
-- Canola or corn oil for frying
1 cup masa de harina (see Note)
2 teaspoons chile powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
4 teaspoons kosher salt
Assembly:
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
-- Juice of 1 large lime
2 teaspoons kosher salt
18 corn tortillas
2 medium avocados, sliced
-- Roasted Tomato Salsa (instructions follow)
-- Chipotle Crema (instructions follow)
-- Pickled red onions (instructions follow)
18 cilantro sprigs
6 limes, halved crosswise and grilled
6 Serrano chiles, roasted
6 radishes, sliced
For the pickled onions: Wrap pickling spice in cheesecloth. Place in a small saucepan along with the vinegar, sugar and salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add onions and simmer 1 minute. Cool onions in liquid. The pickled onions can be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated.
For the crema: In a small bowl, whisk together the crema, chipotle chile, lime juice and salt. The crema can be made ahead and refrigerated.
For the salsa: Rinse chopped yellow onion under cold water then drain well. Meanwhile, roast tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet under a broiler or in a preheated 400° oven, occasionally turning tomatoes over until skin starts to blacken; coarsely chop (including the skin). Place tomatoes, chile, cilantro and lime juice in a blender; pulse until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in onions. The salsa can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated.
For the fish: Cut fish into 18 portions, 2 ounces each. Add about 2 inches of oil to a large skillet over medium-high; take oil to 360°-375°. Mix masa de harina with chile powder, paprika and salt. Dredge fish in masa mixture and shake off excess. Working in batches, cook fish in oil until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
To assemble: While fish is cooking, toss red and green cabbages, lime juice and salt together in a bowl; set aside. Warm tortillas on a griddle. Place fish on warm tortillas, top with slaw, avocado, salsa, crema, pickled onions and cilantro. Serve with grilled limes, roasted serranos and sliced radishes on the side. Alternately, assemble everything family-style so guests can make their own tacos.
Note: Masa harina - flour made from specially treated corn - can be found in Mexican markets and well-stocked supermarkets.
Per serving: 588 calories, 38 g protein, 56 g carbohydrate, 23 g fat (5 g saturated), 97 mg cholesterol, 617 mg sodium, 10 g fiber.
Grilled Salmon Tacos With Corn-Poblano Salad & T-lish Green Salsa
Serves 4
More great recipes here - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/07/25/FDK21EF4EI.DTL&o=
Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
41 .143 .0 ..Craig Lee / Special to The Chronicle
Baja-Style Fish Tacos Craig Lee / Special to The Chronicle; styling by Natalie Knight
.
Images - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/07/25/FDK21EF4EI.DTL&o=
There were a few traditions growing up in San Diego.
When the surf was up, you dropped whatever you were doing and headed to the beach. When the grunions were running, you dropped whatever you were doing and headed to the beach. And when you had a hankering for fish tacos, you dropped whatever you were doing and headed to the beach.
Surfers, college kids and tourists brought their enthusiasm for the tangy seafood treat smothered in cabbage slaw and cilantro mayonnaise back from their vacations in Mexico's Baja Peninsula. So it didn't take long for the tacos to migrate across the border to tiny fish shacks and taquerias along the coast.
Now it seems that fish tacos have become as much a part of California cuisine as goat cheese pizzas and heirloom tomato salads. They're no longer exclusive to seafood joints and taco shops. They're showing up on menus everywhere - especially in the Bay Area.
At the California-style Chow restaurants in San Francisco and the East Bay, fish tacos are served under the sandwich category. At 21st Amendment, a San Francisco brew pub, they're served with potato chips and, of course, beer. At Dish, a comfort-food restaurant in Mill Valley, they're the Sunday special. At Luella, a stylish Russian Hill establishment, they're prepared tartare.
"They've become the new comfort food," says Joe Hargrave, owner of Tacolicious, a Marina district taqueria that has a couple of versions of fish tacos on its menu (see recipe). "I think it's all part of the evolution of Mexican cuisine, which has now become our go-to food."
For chef Lorenzo Kersevan of 21st Amendment it's simple.
"Fish tacos go really well with beer," and that's what the brew pub is in the business of selling. Kersevan particularly likes his fish tacos - made from rock cod coated in a little rice flour, salt and pepper and lightly fried (see recipe) - with wheat beers and lighter lagers.
"Putting them on the menu was a no-brainer," he says. "It's a simple food and easy to prepare. The fish here is fresh, caught right outside the bay, and most of my workforce is Latino."
While his fish recipe stays mostly the same, sometimes the restaurant serves the filling in flour tortillas - a staple of many of his employees who come from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula - other times in two layers of corn tortillas, more a Baja tradition.
Nick Fasanella, the onetime proprietor of Nick's Crispy Tacos in San Francisco who now owns the Taco Shop @ Underdogs in the Sunset neighborhood, grew up in Connecticut with tacos made from store-bought crispy shells, ground beef, taco seasoning, shredded iceberg lettuce and grated cheese.
But on a trip to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, a friend's mom taught him how to make a "real" taco with fresh fish. As he traveled through Baja, he paid special attention to the really good ones, adapting those recipes with his own stamp when he came back to the States.
"Ten years ago you couldn't find them in the Bay Area," he says. "Mexican food was an afterthought. Everyone seemed content with the Mission burrito."
So why fish tacos now?
"The truth is I don't know why it's gotten so big here," he says, guessing that it was only a matter of time before people discovered "how delicious they are."
"The beauty of the fish taco is you can't screw it up as long as you have a nice piece of fish and nice tortillas," says Fasanella, who gets his tortillas from La Palma Mexicatessen in San Francisco's Mission District. He says for an authentic Baja fish taco, a 4 3/4-inch diameter corn tortilla is best. His trick: Dip the tortilla in 3 cups of water and just enough vegetable oil (about 3 tablespoons) so that the top of the water glistens. Then throw the tortilla on a griddle.
While cod seems to be the fish of choice by most Bay Area chefs, Fasanella is partial to mahi mahi (see recipe) or local albacore. "Cod is a little too delicate," he says.
"In Mexico, they use shark," he says. "But California halibut and even striped bass make a great fish taco, too."
Dish's chef, Derek Belanger, sticks with cod because, he says, "the flavors are so bright and vivid."
Originally he added fish tacos (see recipe) to the menu because fresh fish is so readily available in the Bay Area and the bulk of his staff, as at 21st Amendment, is of Mexican heritage. The fact that the tacos sold like hot cakes confirmed that it was a good move.
"They're also really fun and so evocative of summer and the beach," he says.
Belanger says he never thought anything could compete with a cheeseburger, his favorite food. But the fish taco may be bumping it out of first place. And he's from Detroit, where the surf's never up and the grunions never run.
Chow, 215 Church St., S.F.; (415) 552-2469. Also in Danville, Lafayette and Park Chow in San Francisco.
Dish, 507 Miller Ave., Mill Valley; (415) 388-3474
La Palma Mexicatessen, 2884 24th St., S.F.; (415) 647-1500
Luella, 1896 Hyde St., S.F.; (415) 674-4343
Taco Shop @ Underdogs, 1824 Irving St., S.F.; (415) 566-8700
Tacolicious, 2031 Chestnut St., S.F.; (415) 346-1966
21st Amendment, 563 Second St., S.F.; (415) 369-0900
Wines for seafood
Fish is the main ingredient in this week's taco recipes and seafood stew, but for pairing wines the garnishes are key. Wines with relatively low alcohol levels, refreshing flavors and occasionally a little sweetness go the distance with these dishes.
Try nicely chilled Vinho Verde, Vouvray, Pinot Gris or an Arnold Palmer cocktail. Or stick with taco's tried-and-true beverage - an ice cold beer, preferably a light lager.
- Lynne Char Bennett
Dish Fish Tacos
Serves 6, 3 tacos per person
This recipe is from Derek Belanger, executive chef of Dish in Mill Valley. The onions and crema can be made ahead.
Pickled onions:
1 teaspoon pickling spice mix
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small red onion, halved then thinly sliced
Chipotle crema:
1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
1 teaspoon finely chopped chipotle chiles en adobo
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Roasted tomato salsa:
1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 meaty, medium-size tomatoes, such as Romas
1/2 chipotle chile en adobo
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
-- Juice of 1/2 lime
-- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Fish:
36 ounces true cod or other sustainable firm white fish
-- Canola or corn oil for frying
1 cup masa de harina (see Note)
2 teaspoons chile powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
4 teaspoons kosher salt
Assembly:
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
-- Juice of 1 large lime
2 teaspoons kosher salt
18 corn tortillas
2 medium avocados, sliced
-- Roasted Tomato Salsa (instructions follow)
-- Chipotle Crema (instructions follow)
-- Pickled red onions (instructions follow)
18 cilantro sprigs
6 limes, halved crosswise and grilled
6 Serrano chiles, roasted
6 radishes, sliced
For the pickled onions: Wrap pickling spice in cheesecloth. Place in a small saucepan along with the vinegar, sugar and salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add onions and simmer 1 minute. Cool onions in liquid. The pickled onions can be made a day or two ahead and refrigerated.
For the crema: In a small bowl, whisk together the crema, chipotle chile, lime juice and salt. The crema can be made ahead and refrigerated.
For the salsa: Rinse chopped yellow onion under cold water then drain well. Meanwhile, roast tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet under a broiler or in a preheated 400° oven, occasionally turning tomatoes over until skin starts to blacken; coarsely chop (including the skin). Place tomatoes, chile, cilantro and lime juice in a blender; pulse until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in onions. The salsa can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated.
For the fish: Cut fish into 18 portions, 2 ounces each. Add about 2 inches of oil to a large skillet over medium-high; take oil to 360°-375°. Mix masa de harina with chile powder, paprika and salt. Dredge fish in masa mixture and shake off excess. Working in batches, cook fish in oil until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
To assemble: While fish is cooking, toss red and green cabbages, lime juice and salt together in a bowl; set aside. Warm tortillas on a griddle. Place fish on warm tortillas, top with slaw, avocado, salsa, crema, pickled onions and cilantro. Serve with grilled limes, roasted serranos and sliced radishes on the side. Alternately, assemble everything family-style so guests can make their own tacos.
Note: Masa harina - flour made from specially treated corn - can be found in Mexican markets and well-stocked supermarkets.
Per serving: 588 calories, 38 g protein, 56 g carbohydrate, 23 g fat (5 g saturated), 97 mg cholesterol, 617 mg sodium, 10 g fiber.
Grilled Salmon Tacos With Corn-Poblano Salad & T-lish Green Salsa
Serves 4
More great recipes here - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/07/25/FDK21EF4EI.DTL&o=