When my friend Melissa invited me to the fabulous Edible LA fishing trip, I had to ask her "Pretend fishing trip or fishing fishing trip?" Exhibited by their insatiable appetite for costume parties, I have noticed that angelenos love pretending to be and do things. I think it has to do with the movie industry being here for 93 years, but we all hunt for our moments of magic, even if it is as constructed as a back-lot set. Friends from out of town will visit on halloween and be blown away by our enthusiasm. "What is this??" they cry, confused. They come from dark, sad places, where costumes are reserved for children under the age of 8, who knock on a few doors and wander home with a handful of candy. Pathetic. Anyway, I digress.
It was a fishing fishing trip and our prey was the menacing Barracuda. I hooked two, but both were eaten by a fat, greedy sea lion, so Melissa graciously gave me hers to mess around with. I asked a chef on the boat, the charming Adam Cole (formerly of Bazar) what he suggested I do with it. "Salt, pepper, and grill it. This is the freshest fish you will ever eat, so enjoy it." Two steps and only one ingredient? What could I do to complicate and embellish matters? Fish tacos, would be the answer. The barracuda was extraordinarily flaky and perfect in the tacos. I found their flavor to be buttery and a little nutty actually, the perfect compliment to spicy and sweet corn salsa and the herbaceous rice. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
12 corn tortillas
2 barracuda fillets (or whatever's freshest)
Olive oil
3 ears white corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 red onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno
2 lemons, juiced
2 teaspoons Pico Pica Sauce
For the rice:
3 cups basmanti rice
1/2 bunch parsley
1/2 bunch mint
1/2 bunch cilantro
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
plus, my simple salsa on top
Directions:
Starting with the rice, put all of the herbs in a food processor with 4 cups of water and blend. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pot and add the garlic. Add the rice and stir around, toasting it for a minute or two. Add the liquid mixture plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 20 minutes. Fluff and salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the grill to high. Rub the corn with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill on all sides until evenly toasted. Slice the kernels off and put in a bowl with the cilantro, lemon juice, onion, and pico pica. Toss and allow to marinate a little. Roast the jalapeno over an open flame, and finely chop. Add to the corn mixture and you've got you're salsa. Rub the fish fillets with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Grill until just cooked through. Meanwhile, toss the tortillas onto the grill, just until they have a little color. The fish is very delicate, so use a spatula to get it off the grill. Flake the fish and assemble your tacos. Enjoy!
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