Sugar’s Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos with Pesto Mayo and Arugula with Pinot Beans

[sugarspunZ]

Sugar’s Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos with Pesto Mayo and Arugula

In my humble opinion Beer Battered Baja Fish Tacos are the best but… they are pain in the butt to make. So after tinkering with a few different twists on the fish taco I came up with this. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
• 3 8oz Filets of Mahi Mahi (Salmon or Tuna is also really good)
• 1 cup of Olive Oil
• ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tbs Cumin
• 1 tbs Garlic Powder
• 3 tbs of Marlowe’s Black Magic Rub (Recipe to follow)
• 1 Red Onion
• 2 Lemons
• 1 Lime
• 1 Bag of Arugula
• 1 Green Jalapeño
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 Tomato
• 2 Cups Mayo
• 1 Cup of Fresh Basil
• 2 15oz Can of Pinto Beans
• Corn Tortialls
• Salt
• Pepper

This Rub is phenomenal. I put it on Chicken, Pork, Beef, and Fish.

Marlowe's Black Magic Rub:
• 2 cups onion powder
• 2 cups garlic powder
• 1 cup cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup white pepper
• 1/2 cup black pepper
• 1 cup dried thyme
• 1 cup dried oregano
• 2 cups table salt
• 1 cup paprika
• 1 cup ground cumin

Blend well, cover and store.


Let’s start with the Mahi. I cut the Mahi into serving portions and placed them into a ziplock bag. I then mixed the Rub, Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, juice from one Lemon and then poured pour the marinade into the bag with the fish. I let sit in the fridge for about 2 hours.




Pesto Mayo: I minced three cloves of Garlic, zested one Lemon, and put the ingredients into a food processor. I then added the Basil, juice from one Lemon, and ¼ cup of Olive Oil and blended for about 1 minute. I then added the mixture to a bowl and mixed in 2 cups of Mayo.






Beans: I cut one Jalapeño into slices removing the seeds and ribs then placed it on a grill. Once nice and charred removed Jalapeño slices from the grill and chopped. Place pot over medium heat and add about ¼ cup Olive oil. Then add half a chopped Red Onion, Jalapeño, Salt and sweat for about 5 mins. Once Red Onions are translucent add rinsed and drained Pinto Bean to pot with Cumin and Garlic Powder then Salt and Pepper to taste and simmer for 10 mins.







While Beans are simmering cut remaining half Red Onion and Tomato for Tacos. Remove Mahi from fridge and place pieces on hot grill. Cook fish for about 2 mins on each side. Once cooked remove and wrap in foil.



Close lid to grill and let it get as hot as possible then scrub grill with wire brush to remove any food partials. Once grill is clean turn heat down and place Corn Tortillas on grill. This should take less than a min per side. Watch closely because they burn easily. Once done wrap in foil to keep warm.



Then at the last min toss Arugula in about a table spoon of Olive oil and a tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar.

Arrange all of the fixing, make tacos, and enjoy.

[phreaktor]

That looks dope...


Dat mayo... lol

[sugarspunZ]

when it comes to my food i am my biggest critic but i must say man that these tacos are fcking the BOMB!!! if you try anything that i have made try these. the pesto mayo and the arugula set it off.

[surfcity40]

They look great. Fish looks like it came out perfect.

You spare no expense for olive oil I see.

[phreaktor]

Sugar can COOOOOK!

[surfcity40]

just sayin'....

[sugarspunZ]

^ ok srssly... it was funny the first time but NOT nao.

[surfcity40]

Originally Posted by sugarspunZ

^ ok srssly... it was funny the first time but NOT nao.

Couldn't help myself. Sry. The tacos looked great BTW.

[aloh]

dang looks super simple. I should give this one a try.

[jeffie7]

double up the tortillas if you want to earn the respect of the Hispanic crowd. Queso Fresco is also a plus. Drop the lettuce for some fresh cilantro =)

[ActionJackson]

Yuck I hate cilantro, lettuce gives it the nice green color it needs without the icky taste.

[jeffie7]

Originally Posted by ActionJackson

Yuck I hate cilantro, lettuce gives it the nice green color it needs without the icky taste.

You can make your food however you like, I was giving him a bit of insight as to how a more authentic taco would be made.

Just making it clear to the readers of this forum, it's not my opinion but rather my knowledge of how its made. Granted different towns will all have their own twist on it, but for the most part it seems the one thing in common between all the styles is less = more, while the North Americans tend to load it up with anything and everything.

[ax6_g35]

Originally Posted by jeffie7

double up the tortillas if you want to earn the respect of the Hispanic crowd. Queso Fresco is also a plus. Drop the lettuce for some fresh cilantro =)

or Cabbage. Nice write up!

[ax6_g35]

Originally Posted by jeffie7

You can make your food however you like, I was giving him a bit of insight as to how a more authentic taco would be made.

Just making it clear to the readers of this forum, it's not my opinion but rather my knowledge of how its made. Granted different towns will all have their own twist on it, but for the most part it seems the one thing in common between all the styles is less = more, while the North Americans tend to load it up with anything and everything.

very true, its hard to know what is authentic mexican food. Mexican food in South texas is different from N. texas. I've tasted mexican food in west coast (CA), east coast (FL) and here (TX). there not made the same. Same goes for food in Mexico, Depends what region your at. Baja Calafornia food is going to taste and prepared different than food from a mexican town south of Texas.

[sugarspunZ]

Originally Posted by jeffie7

double up the tortillas if you want to earn the respect of the Hispanic crowd. Queso Fresco is also a plus. Drop the lettuce for some fresh cilantro =)

if there were more than one tortilla it would be to much. i dig what you are saying but the tortillas i used are not thin.
when i use cilantro i use a different mayo. i mix some mayo with ponzu and tapatillo hot sauce. it works much better IMO than with the pesto mayo.
i was missing the queso fresco or queso cotija for the beans.

[sugarspunZ]

^and i was not going for anything near authentic.

[jeffie7]

Just pointing it out for people. You can make it however you like.

I mean you weren't cooking at a restaurant.

If he were cooking it at a restaurant I would expect it to be very far from authentic.
Just like anything else "Mexican" on any American restaurant menu.

I'm big on finding out the authentic ways of cooking things and when it comes to recipes online it's hard to find any or know the difference from one to the next.

I wasn't bashing your tacos, I was just pointing out where it could be different to make it more authentic, doesn't mean it has to go one way or another, I cook a lot of things where I go my own direction with it but anytime I do recipes on ethnic food I try to make it clear on if its legit or Americanized.

[sugarspunZ]

Originally Posted by jeffie7

Just pointing it out for people. You can make it however you like.



If he were cooking it at a restaurant I would expect it to be very far from authentic.
Just like anything else "Mexican" on any American restaurant menu.

I'm big on finding out the authentic ways of cooking things and when it comes to recipes online it's hard to find any or know the difference from one to the next.

I wasn't bashing your tacos, I was just pointing out where it could be different to make it more authentic, doesn't mean it has to go one way or another, I cook a lot of things where I go my own direction with it but anytime I do recipes on ethnic food I try to make it clear on if its legit or Americanized.

[surfcity40]

Originally Posted by jeffie7

You can make your food however you like, I was giving him a bit of insight as to how a more authentic taco would be made.

I don't know it you follow this guy at all but he is the preeminent real deal.

Folk got to see his work on Top Chef Masters but a lot of us have been watching his work since he was burying food in the backyard and digging up some amazing stuff. This guy is Michelin good.

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-mast...yless-extended

Chef Bayless was raised in an Oklahoma restaurant family. He studied Spanish and Latin American studies as an undergraduate, followed by doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics at the University of Michigan. Rick and his wife Deann lived in Mexico for six years, where his natural interest in the cuisine and cultural foodways evolved into a passion. This coupled with his research resulted in his first cookbook, Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico. When it was published in 1987, Craig Claiborne, writing in The New York Times, said it was “the greatest contribution to the Mexican table imaginable”

But IMO Sugar was making "homemade" fish tacos with a mayo that would never be confused with authentic fish tacos. And frankly, IMO the only "authentic" fish taco has cabbage and a lime squeeze.

[surfcity40]

Originally Posted by asingh1

I can respect that. Whatever though, either way those were some damn good looking tacos.

There you have it in a nutshell. Some awesome tacos. I'd hate the "cooking" forum to become a "Top Chef" forum. We should save that for when we have v2 of my350z iron chef....