Rock Fish Taco & Not Gross Slaw

I guess one cool thing about having a recipe blog as my "job" is that I get to decide when I do it. So, here I am months and months after my last post (which wasn't even a recipe). We were blessed with our 4th child at the end of August and I decided to focus on that! Things have settled and I am good to go now. Wahoo!

My father in law took a fishing trip to Alaska and caught some amaaazing Rock fish. He had it filleted there and fresh frozen to bring back for us! Ooooh it was a beauty. Since it's more a mild fish, we were trying to think of what to do with it and how to season it. We decided we'd take the fish taco route. We were SHOCKED at the amazing flavor the fish had on its own! Somehow the seasonings were paired really well with it to where you could taste the seasoning and the fish both separately while having the flavors compliment each other as well.

Now, about the slaw. My husband and I are not slaw people. We can't even figure out how there are so many people who are. It makes zero sense to us. But, we couldn't just not have slaw with it. It's a fish taco. So this is a slaw that works without being the gross slaw ;). I actually just drizzled the dressing made for the slaw on my taco by itself without the slaw at all. My husband did both. We taste tested the dressing for the slaw and it was really good, but we were a little baffled that there was no garlic in it. "Should we add garlic? We never skip garlic. Should we? It's good without it....but we love garlic so much. Yes? No?" We didn't add any! Who are we?! It just had this magic flavor that seemed so right with a fish taco, we left it as is.

So, here's the deal. My husband knows a guy named George. He's our food guy. Everyone should have a food guy. He recommended Sazon Goya seasoning, claiming that, "if you don't want to spend the money on saffron, but want incredible taste, go with Sazon Goya." Yes, sir. Correct, sir.

(For the record, with the going price of a lb. of saffron being anywhere from $500-$5000, I don't buy saffron. I have tried it exactly one time at a brunch at The Grand America and I didn't like it. So I was nervous at his recommendation for this in place of saffron. Like I said, though, he was correct. Trust the process.)

What you will need:

Fish-

• Rock Fish fillets (I mean, if you don't have Rock Fish freshly caught in Alaska...cod will do ;) )
• 1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 T oil 

Slaw-

• Green cabbage, julienne
• Red onion, sliced
• Cilantro, chopped
• jalapeno, diced

Dressing for the slaw-

• 1/2 C salsa verde
• 1/4 C mayo
• 1 T lime
• Hot sauce to taste
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Fish-

• Bring a large saute pan to medium-high heat and add the T of oil
• Rinse your fillets and pat dry
• Rub Sazon Goya and salt/pepper on each side of the fillets
• Lay each fillet in the pan and cook each side 2-3 minutes

Slaw-

• Slice, chop and dice ingredients and add to a bowl.
• I don't have any measurements, just go with "some of each" and see where it gets you. Live on the edge.

Dressing for the slaw-

• Add each ingredient into a blender and blend until it's all mixed until smooth and saucy.
• Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well
• Maybe reserve some on its own in case you just want to drizzle the goodness by itself. Like me. Be like me.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

This recipe is adapted from Our Best Bites. It's super delicious! The garlic, cilantro and green salsa amount is a little different but not a ton so try it either way and you'll love it!

What you will need:

• 1 pkg hidden valley ranch dressing mix (or 1 1/2 T)
• 1 C mayo
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 lime
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3/4 C cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 C green salsa
• hot sauce

Directions:

• Place milk, ranch mix and mayo in a blender and blend and juice the lime into it
• Add garlic, cilantro and salsa and blend
• Add hot sauce to taste

Jerk Pork Wraps with Lime Mayo

Another great recipe to add to my "healthy" category. Okay so the lime mayo isn't really all that healthy but I'm sure you could use fat free or something and make it healthier. In the end, the flavor of it didn't really add a whole ton to the meal anyway so technically it could be left out and not be missed. We are also going to use Baja Fresh's pineapple salsa next time because it's spicier, so I'll update this with that recipe next time. Whenever I have a recipe that uses tortilla's but the main recipe is gluten-free, I am still considering it a gluten-free meal because I feel that I can still do something with it to keep it gluten-free like eliminating the tortilla and using it as a rice topper or putting it on corn tortilla chips.


**Update**- I'm not sure if the recipe I tried is similar to what they have at Baja Fresh, but it's super good! Check out this Spicy Pineapple Salsa!

What you will need:

Taco's

• 1 1/2-2 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast
• 6 tortillas**
• 1 T Jamaican jerk seasoning (naturally gluten free)
• 1/4 tsp. Thyme
• 1 C water
• 1 T lime juice
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red onion, diced (only if you aren't using the Lime Mayo)
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded and chopped OR pineapple chopped (I used the pineapple)
• cilantro (optional)
• lettuce (optional)
• Lime Mayo

Lime Mayo

• 1/2 C Mayo
• 1/4 C finely chopped red onion
• 1/4 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
• 1 T lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Taco's

• Trim the fat off of the pork shoulder
• Rub pork shoulder with jerk seasoning
• Sprinkle the pork with thyme
• Pour 1 C water over the meat and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours
• Remove meat from slow cooker and drain juices
• Shred the pork shoulder
• Toss the shredded pork in 1 T lime juice
• Build your taco with the pork, pineapple/mango salsa, cilantro, lettuce, dressing, cheese, etc.

Lime Mayo

• I just tossed all these ingredient into my food processor and voila

**For the tortilla's, I buy the La Abuela brand in the refrigerated section by the cream cheeses at the store. A cast iron skillet is always a great way to warm up the tortilla's!