Yoo-hoo… I am back! I hope you guys missed me. Please humor me and say yes, won’t ya? I took some time out, traveled to India, and met with our dearest family. Except for the occasional blog post, I was pretty much out of the loop and offline. And guess what? I kind of liked it. It has me feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and ra-aring to go (You need to be a fan of the 1990s Father of the Bride movies and Franck Eggelhoffer in particular, to get the joke here. It is the best movie ever, IMO).
I am back now, coming up with meal ideas and planning blog posts. I am just bursting with ideas. But that involves shopping for ingredients, which is going to take some time. Meanwhile, Easter is nearing and I need to plan for that too.
When we landed the past weekend, I was expecting the usual sunny weather that Texas sees mid-March onward. No such luck. Can you believe it was actually cold? And cloudy and dull all around, all of which makes me sad. Really.
Now that I am back to cooking, cleaning and all the rather dull chores that need to be done, I needed a little cheering up. And what better to perk you up than some Mexican food? I took out a couple of tilapia fillets to be thawed, and rather than using them in a traditional Indian curry, I decided to try something new.
I wanted to try out a simple dry spice rub for the fish. As I thought about it some more, I was convinced it would go really well with a fresh tomato salsa.
Before we move on to the recipe, let me just show you some of the goodies I came home with. My very own wooden mortar and pestle and earthen bowl. Perfect to serve fresh salsa in.
I have a lot more stuff that I stole from mom’s stash brought back from India.
I was excited to grind my own spices for the dry rub. It smelled so good too.
The recipe is very simple and you can put your own touch to it by modifying the spices used, as per taste. I used black pepper, cumin, red chili flakes and dried oregano.
I fried the fillets in a hot pan to get a nice sear. I like my fish slightly on the well-done side. That explains the dark color.
Now for the salsa. It is pretty straight-forward with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilis and cilantro. I thought it might all end up being too spicy, and added a couple of chopped strawberries to the mix. Delicious!
Wrap it all up in a warm tortilla, close your eyes and pretend the sun is out!
You will need:
Pan-Seared, Herb-Crusted Tilapia Fillets
- Tilapia fillets – 2
- Black pepper corns – 10
- Red chili flakes – 1/2 tsp
- Dry roasted cumin – 1 tsp
- Dried oregano – 1/2 tsp
- Red chili powder – 1 tsp (omit this if you don’t want it too spicy)
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – 2 tbsp
Onion, Red Tomato & Strawberry Salsa
- Onion – 1 small, chopped
- Tomato – 1 large, chopped
- Green chili – 1, chopped
- Strawberries – 1-2, chopped
- Cilantro – a few leaves, chopped
- Lime juice – a generous squeeze
- Salt and pepper – to taste
How to:
- Grind the spices together for the dry rub. Combine with salt and rub liberally all over the fish fillets. Heat oil in a large skillet and fry the fish on medim-high heat, to develop a nice sear on both sides. Remove when done (the fish will be opaque and flaky when poked with a fork) and keep warm.
- For the salsa, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Serve the fish and salsa with warm tortillas and some sour cream, if desired.
I hope you try this simple, light and summery dish. Here’s to sunnier days!
Are you excited for spring and summer? Do tell me.
You might also like this Indo-Chinese-Mexican fusion Chilli Mushroom wrapped in tortillas.
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- By Stephanie Lynn
A really good and easy recipe, like it 🙂
Thank you. Do try it!
Definitely I will do 🙂
This looks delicious and just the type of thing that I would cook and eat. In fact it is making me hungry just looking at your lovely photos. best Torie
Thank you so much 🙂
Yummy! These look so good. I love dry spice rubs on fish, but don’t utilize this technique enough. What a good blend too! Thanks for sharing.
I love experimenting with different spice blends, though I do lean towards Indian flavors mostly. You must try this. Its really good!
Now that’s how fish should be cooked! it looks so well-seasoned and is seared to perfection. Fish never looks as good as this, Anjana! Photos are incredible as well. Love all the new kitchenware you stole from your mom. I mean borrowed! 🙂
Thanks for the sweet comment, Angie. And thanks for hosting!
A colorful, vibrant recipe. Would be perfect for a weeknight dinner. Thanks & hope you are having a great weekend 🙂
Thank you. Have a great weekend too!
I have a lot of fresh water fish in the freezer I think would be good with this recipe – very different from all the ones I have tried so far. Thanks.
I hope you try it!
Welcome back..and I look forward to catching up on your blog!! I LOVE fish tacos, and these look spectacular! Nice to meet you!! 🙂
Thank you. Nice to meet you too!
Fish tacos are one of my favorites, Anjana! The sear on your fish is fabulous!
Thank you, Patty. Just remember to keep the skillet really hot!
Well, as long as you bring gorgeous homewares and colourful recipes after every holiday! 😉
This looks great, love the idea of adding strawberries to salsa, it looks beautiful with the fish!
Haha… that’s a deal then!
Thanks for visiting. The strawberries added a nice twist. Some mangoes would have been heavenly too!!
I can imagine mangoes would go really well with these flavors, so many ideas! 🙂
Hi, these look awesome. I found you on the link up..
Thank you, Stephanie!
I have had a hard time making a delicious fish taco… This really looks good- I’ll have to try it 🙂
It is really easy to put together. You whatever spices/herbs you have on hand, and you can’t go wrong.
Thanks for visiting!
I love fish tacos! That looks so good! Love your pictures!
Thank you, Lori!
I love tacos and sure this is a must try 🙂
You must try it. It’s perfect for a light summer lunch, Elson!
Anjana, we sure did miss you!! I am so envious of all the earthen ware you stole, oh sorry borrowed from your mum. They are sure gonna make fabulous pictures. The salsa looks fresh and the taco enticing. Such vibrant sprig colors on your plate… one beautiful lookin dish!
Aww… that’s sweet of you, Namrata!
I am always “borrowing” stuff from mom. She has a keener eye than me for such things 🙂
Thanks for the lovely comment!!
This looks great, perfect for lunch – am guessing I could pack it up and take it with me on a picnic too! (clearly I am dreaming of summer)
I am dreaming of summer too. It’s almost here!
Do try the recipe too!!
Yesss! Love the Father of the Bride reference (and the tacos of course!)
My favorite movie! I can never tire of watching it. Thanks for visiting, Karla!
LOVE your kitchen treasures from home! Thanks for providing us with such a delicious dish upon your return 🙂 Welcome back…
Thank you, Nancy!
What a refreshing dish to be back with. 🙂 looks like you had a wonderful vacation.
Thank you 🙂
We had a blast!
Enjoyed it! Do read my new blog post and fill me in with your comments:
http://cheenithoughts.com/food/easy-thai-red-chicken-curry/
xx
Thanks for visiting, Cheeni!
Welcome back! Can’t wait for your new recipes…x lovely bright dish!
Thank you sweetie. Glad to be back!