Fish tacos hit my radar in the late '80s, popping up in beachside spots in San Diego. Popular on the West Coast, I couldn't imagine them finding a home here in the Midwest.
How times have changed. Fish tacos are, if not everywhere, then almost everywhere.
Much as I love them today, I'm not a big fan of the battered, deep-fried version of fish that serves as the mainstay for most of these tacos.
Why would you drop what amounts to delicate fish into a vat of hot oil? Wouldn't pan-fried fish, sans batter, be better?
Turns out there's yet another alternative: grilled. In this recipe, it's tilapia, but it could be walleye or any mild-flavored fish — or even shrimp, which I have to say makes a fine substitute.
Whichever is used, a light dusting of spices makes a difference before the protein is finished over a hot fire, then topped with ranch dressing (which predates the '80s by more than a decade) and a radicchio slaw.
You can grill this slaw (radicchio, beet and pineapple), though I wondered, as I ran outside and in several times while cooking, why I took this step when the ungrilled version tastes just fine. My advice: Grilled slaw is best done in advance, and if you lack time, prep it without the heat.
These are my kind of recipes, with adaptability built in.
