Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Paleo Fish Tacos

Dinner last night was... awesome. Totally. Chris and I were fish taco lovers before we went paleo and I would order them every time I saw them on a menu! I had many varieties (different fish, different spices, different salsas, etc) and loved them all :)

But we've been making paleo breaded fish off and on over the past two years we've been paleo, using ground flax seed or almond meal, etc.

Last night was almond meal breaded haddock with mango/avocado salsa!

I'll give you the recipe of exactly what we did last night:

First, I posted about the mango salsa a few days ago. This is a must to complete the flavor palate :D

The fish:

- buy haddock fillet (I got 3/4 of a pound, MORE than enough for two people haha)

- cut into bite size chunks

- have three bowls ready: one with coconut flour, one with a mixed egg, one with almond meal spiced with your favorite flavors (we did pepper, salt, garlic powder and paprika)

- dredge fish first in fine coconut flour

- then dredge fish in the egg

- then dredge finally in the almond/spice mix

- put on baking sheet and bake at 365 degrees for about 10-15 minutes!

The fish was perfectly tender and moist while still being fully cooked. The breading stuck beautifully (and wasn't too thick!).

We used romaine lettuce leaves as the taco shell, filled them up with about 3 fish chunks and salsa, a dash of hot sauce and VOILA!


Our beautiful "breaded" fish!

Ohhh yeah, so pretty!!!

I ate three "tacos" but only really needed two for dinner (but leftover fish isn't as good, haha, and MAN was this good).

As I've said before, I don't usually like mimicking the Standard American Diet with paleo alternatives... but using a lettuce leaf as a vehicle for my delicious noms? Totally acceptable to me :) Also, we rarely ever get to use the almond meal, because we never bake or bread anything!! This was a nice change of texture for us.

Also - I will reiterate you don't need complicated recipe books, just a basic understanding of cooking techniques and flavor profiles. We did not use a recipe for this, just worked with what we had and what we know we like! So easy :)

Keep it simple everyone. Simple can be tasty and filling. No need to complicate your life.

Have a great day, my friends.

Namaste <3

9 comments:

  1. Those look yummy. I find I do look at recipes for ideas on spices. In my family, spices were not used much other than salt. Until I learned more about spices, I have to have a basic idea of amounts , then I can do my own thing

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    1. Karen - same here! My family used salt and pepper and occasionally some Italian blend seasoning, that's it. When I got into my 20s and started going out to restaurants on my own and tasting other cuisines (Indian, Thai, etc), I wanted those flavors ALLLLLL the time. Through years of experimenting with spices, I've found what I like and what works for me. Now have a cupboard filled with cumin, curry powder, masala, chili powders, cayenne, garlic powder, smoked paprika and more! It took a while, but I love having the "same" meal taste different because of spices.

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  2. Those look delicious! My old self would have turned up my nose, but those look divine! :)

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  3. I'm with Karen as well, my family only used salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder, and maybe onion powder, so I am such a newbie at spices. I am loving experimenting with others' simple recipes (like this one you've posted), and some day I hope to graduate to "wing it" status....ha!! Those look good and I'm adding this to my recipe box to try!

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    1. Trust me, no one was more uneducated about spice and flavor than me just a short 5 years ago. The ONLY way to learn is to dive in, buy spices and try them out - I experiment with lots of spices in my eggs, because it's a pretty bland food that responds really well to spicing (it tastes like the spice rather than overpowering it)... I've had a few disasters, but really very few in the end!! The smell of a spice itself can let you know how strong it is and if it would work well with a specific food/other spice.

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  4. The only paleo/primal recipes mimicking SAD that I'm against are the desserts. Anything else is fair game. These look great!

    Try Penzey's spices. They are amazing!

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  5. I agree, lettuce works great as a food holder.

    Steamed cabbage is a good food holder for things like Chinese mixtures.

    Cucumber and carrot coins are good holders too.

    Dry pan fried or steamed zucchini, mushrooms, onions are good subs for noodles, rice.

    Lightly steamed green beans or spinach work great as subs too. I love cooked ground turkey and sauce over green beans as spaghetti.

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  6. Looks and sounds a good recipe ides ... thanks for sharing

    All the best Jan

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  7. Damn... these look good. Why on earth have I never thought of the lettuce for tacos? My grandson comes and loves chicken tacos but I don't eat the soft taco wraps. I'll do this next time!!

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