Fish Tacos with Charred Corn, Radish and Kohlrabi Slaw

If there were a contest to decide the world's most perfect food, I am sure that tacos would be near if not at the top of the list.  They would certainly get my vote.  For me a taco is a blank canvas of corn or flour tortilla that invites creativity and experimentation.  There is a little taco shop near my house that has made its name with interesting fillings like pork with orange peel, chorizo and black bean, and even cactus!  Delicious as they are, they are small, so you need at least 4 for a meal and at $3-$4 each, I'd go broke pretty quick if I didn't make my own.  Tonight my thoughts turned from the local taco shop to the southwest and fish tacos!  The best fish tacos I've had have been on my trips to Southern California, but since six hour plane rides are not a good ingredient in any meal, I've had to make do with cooking them myself. The key to good fish tacos is (big surprise) the fish.  I've played around with this recipe for a couple years, trying different fish and seasonings before settling on what's shown here.  I use tilapia because of its mild flavor and that it stays in one piece and won't flake apart when cooked, cod works as well if you can't get tilapia, but may fall apart easier. For seasoning, I've tried it seems almost every possible spice combination, but ultimately settled on Old Bay seasoning.  Part of me felt a bit lazy doing this ("a real cook makes his own spice rub!") but in the end the folks at Old Bay know what they are doing when it comes to seafood seasoning.

The other toppings for the taco change every time I make it depending on what I have on hand, but there are typically three of them; a cheese, a vegetable and a sauce or salsa.  Tonight I dug in to the remnants of last week's share for the vegetable and pulled out some radishes and the kohlrabi bulb to make a simple light slaw. The two complimented each other nicely to give a cool crunch to the taco.  A charred ear of corn provided a bit of sweetness (and a fun popcorn smell) to balance the peppery radish.

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Radish
Kohlrabi

Charred Corn, Radish and Kohlrabi Slaw
One fresh ear of corn
1 cup julienned radish
1 cup julienned kohlrabi
Lime juice
Salt

I used a mandolin to julienne the radish and kohlrabi, but if you don't have one you can use a knife. Start by peeling the kohlrabi and then cut it in half.  Place the flat side on the cutting board and cut in into thin slices.  stack the slices and then cut again into matchsticks.  Slice the radishes the same way (no need to peel those).

Normally I would use the grill to char the corn, but I didn't feel like getting the grill set up and heated for just one ear (also its 90 degrees and humid out), so I turned to my gas stove.  After removing the corn from the husk, I placed it over the open flame, turning occasionally with tongs until it had nice char marks on all sides.  A word of caution on this technique, some kernels may pop and splatter you with hot corn juice, so an apron and/or potholder may be in order. Immediately after you've completed the char, wrap the corn in foil so the residual heat will cook the kernels all the way through.

When the corn is cool, cut it off the cob.  Toss the kernels together with the radish, kohlrabi and the juice of half a lime.  Season with salt to taste.

Fish Tacos
1 lb tilapia fillets (or other firm white fish)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs Old Bay Seasoning
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Corn tortillas
Queso Fresco (or any soft, crumbling cheese)
Lime wedges
Mango sauce (see below)

Preparation
About 15 minutes before you will eat, wrap the tortillas in foil and place in a 275 degree oven to warm.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and Old Bay.  Cut the fish into 1 inch cubes, then season with salt and pepper and toss with the flour mixture until lightly coated.  Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the coated fish and cook until the fish is cooked through and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.  

Assemble the tacos by spooning a few pieces of fish into a warm tortilla.  Top with some of the crumbled cheese, mango sauce and the corn, radish, kohlrabi slaw.  Serve with lime wedges and any other toppings that you enjoy (sour cream, tomato, etc.)

Mango Sauce
3/4 cup ripe mango, fine dice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp Serrano chili pepper, minced
1 tsp Thai hot chili paste
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to meld.

Braised Kohlrabi Greens with Garlic and Chives

Tonight was pork chop night, and to accompany the chops I turned to the kohlrabi greens. The greens are rather tough and bitter in raw form, similar to collards, so it seemed best to treat them the way I would collards and go for a slow braise.  For flavoring, I cooked them with garlic and then used the entire bunch of chives from this week's share to add a mild onion flavor at the end .  The result was quite nice, the bitterness of the raw greens mellowed down to just a hint and allowed the more pleasant flavors of the dish to be heard.  This was also a great way to use up all the chives, which would otherwise have languished in the fridge, being slowly picked apart for garnish and other small uses.

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Kohlrabi greens
Chives

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kohlrabi greens, stems removed, chopped. (about 6 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, being careful not to burn.  Stir in the kohlrabi greens plus a quarter cup of water, cover and simmer over low heat until the greens are soft, about 10 minutes. Taste to ensure the greens are softened to your liking and then remove from the heat and stir in the chives.  Season to taste with salt an pepper.

Pan Seared Salmon with Swiss Chard

The prepared food section of our local Whole Foods can be a great place for inspiration. Recipes for much of what you see behind the glass can be found on their website, and are often relatively simple to follow.  To find a use for the remaining Swiss chard, I searched their recipes until the dish shown here caught my eye.  Simple, healthy and only took about 30 minutes (most of that from washing and chopping all the greens) from start to finish.  I ended up adding the kohlrabi leaves because there was not quite enough chard left.  The kohlrabi had a slightly tougher texture, but otherwise we could not tell the two apart when mixed together.

The recipe below is from the Whole Foods website with just a couple small tweaks.

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All the remaining Swiss chard
Kohlrabi leaves

Ingredients
1 bunch Swiss chard (plus the kohlrabi leaves)
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 (4- to 6-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon tamari (dark soy sauce)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Wash and dry the chard. Cut the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop leaves and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in chard leaves, cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 tablespoon water, if necessary, to create enough steam to cook greens quickly. When ready, greens should be wilted but still bright green.  Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Meanwhile, season the salmon with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the top, then drizzle on the tamari and sesame oil. Turn pieces to coat all surfaces.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add salmon and cook 2 minutes on each side, or just cooked through.

I served the salmon and chard along with rice and the kohlrabi fries shown in this post.

Oven Roasted Kohlrabi Fries

Boy, the last week sure flew by, and while the kohlrabi waited patiently in the crisper, I may have unintentionally limited my options for it.  When I finally found time to research methods of cooking it I learned that a raw preparations can be a good option for kohlrabi.  Shaved over a salad or julienned in a slaw for instance.  Unfortunately, after a week its likely that my kohlrabi will not be that tasty raw, but I still wanted to  prepare it in a way that wouldn't hide its flavor.  To that end we have a simple roasted preparation that I served alongside some salmon and Swiss chard (separate post).

Share contents used
Kohlrabi (bulb only)

Ingredients
1 large kohlrabi – peeled, tough outer layer sliced off; cut into 1/4" sticks

Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine the kohlrabi, salt, pepper, herbs and olive oil and toss to coat.  Lay out the kohlrabi on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake, stirring once or twice until they start to brown, 15-20 minutes. When they start to get brown, sprinkle the Parmesan over and bake for another five minutes. Serve immediately.

These kohlrabi fries were delicious! They had a texture that you might expect from potatoes, but with a much more complex flavor. Sort of similar to the taste of broccoli stems with a peppery hint you'd get from a radish.