Thursday, April 18, 2013

Low Carb Tortillas & Fish Tacos

I grew up in San Diego, CA and developed a love for fish tacos early on. It is hard to get a good one outside of Baja - and now that I dwell in the Midwest, let's just say it's impossible BUT I have been making my own for eons now -- I even figured out how to enjoy them low carb.



I never really thought about needing tortillas since I just piled my ingredients into a ramekin sans the tortilla for low carb fish tacos -- that is until the sweet man in my life decided he would like to go low carb too (isn't that awesome?!!). Problem being, he was sure the food he would miss the most was tortillas. I know you can get low carb ones commercially but since he lives in a small town, they would not be available to him -- we were going to have to make them.

I knew I had seen recipes and my friend and fellow blogger Theresa pointed out the perfect recipe (her review is here) -- Maria's *Healthified* Tortillas sounded like just what we were looking for. We shopped for the specialty items needed - Coconut flour (we were actually able to find this in his little hometown grocery store -- kudos to them) and Phyllium Husk Powder (found this in the laxative section of Walmart) and we were ready to start. We decided to whip up a batch for breakfast with eggs.



In spite of my irregular rolling and wonky shapes, the tortillas turned out delicious. Problem being, rolling them out was something he knew he wouldn't be able to do on his own. I had an idea -- what about using a tortilla press? Now to find one in my small, but not as small as his, town -- I knew there was a Latino Market downtown so we headed for there. Lucky us, there were 2 to choose from and the price very reasonable. He picked the one he wanted and we decided we'd attempt another batch with supper -- fish tacos went onto the menu!!

The press worked fantastic -- no more wonky shapes and he was able to press and cook the tortillas on his own. If you have never used a tortilla press, here is a great tutorial How to use a Tortilla Press. I also want to comment on how well these tortillas held up to the filling we stuffed them with -- they were perfect!

The fish tacos were so good, I have rethought my stance on no need for tortillas -- I can think of lots of reasons to need them -- especially as low carb and high fiber as these are. Oh, and since Mr. Dreamy spent some time in San Diego in his Navy service, I thought he had experienced fish tacos before -- he hadn't and really enjoyed these!!

Fish Tacos

1-lb mild white fish (I used cod), seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder
1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded
1 lime, cut into quarters

Sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tsp hot sauce

In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, add oil and fish. Cook until lightly browned on each side and done -- about 3 minutes each side. Using 2 forks, flake fish up into large pieces. Divide fish evenly among 6 tortillas. Top each with 1/4 cup shredded cabbage and 2 Tbsp sauce mixture, adding more hot sauce if desired. Squeeze lime over and devour! Makes 3 servings.