Chili-cilantro flounder and peas with pesto and pistachios

This past Friday I noticed a new stand in the Greenmarket: Pura Vida Fishery. I'm not sure if they're new at the market, or I just hadn't noticed them before, but their catch looked beautiful, and their prices were reasonable.

The fishmonger recommended the flounder, and I started recipe-hunting for something appropriate. I came across this recipe from Apartment Therapy and adapted it to include the remnants of my last batch of homemade chili paste. To go along with the fish, Ali made a fantastic side with some peas in the pod I picked up from the market.


She shucked the peas, then tossed them briefly in a pan with the pesto left over from her tart, a handful of raw pistachios, and some low-fat greek yogurt. The result was sweetly green and herbaceous, the perfect evocation of spring.


CHILI-CILANTRO FLOUNDER

3/4 lb flounder
1 jalapeño
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp white wine
1/2 cup chili paste
1 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, with more for garnish
scallions, chopped for garnish
1 cup organic brown rice, cooked according to package instructions

1. Heat the oven to 475 degrees. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.
2. Chop the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a food processor with the soy sauce, white wine, chili paste, sesame oil, and cilantro. Pulse until blended. Pour the sauce over the fish. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through.
3. Serve immediately over brown rice, garnished with scallions and cilantro.


PEAS WITH PESTO AND PISTACHIOS

1 lb peas in the pod, shucked
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp homemade basil pesto
1/3 cup raw pistachios
2 tbsp low-fat greek yogurt
1 tsp tarragon
salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the pistachios in a sauté pan for 3-5 minutes, until toasted, then reserve on the side.
2. Add olive oil to the pan, then sauté onion and green onion 3-5 minutes until soft.
3. Return pistachios to the pan, and add peas, pesto, and yogurt to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until pesto and yogurt mix and peas start to change color. Season with tarragon, salt, and pepper, and serve.

Fish tacos with gingered mango salsa

There's a spirited, longstanding, ongoing debate in food writing over who invented the fish taco. Ensenada certainly gets the most credit for it, but that may simply be the spoils of convenience – Ensenada is right across the border from my hometown, San Diego, making it easy for foodie luminaries like Calvin Trillin to sample the wares and declare it, unequivocally, the best, and probably the first, fish taco in the world.

San Felipe, on the other hand, is almost three hours' drive from the border towns of Calexico and Mexicali, which themselves are in the middle of nowhere. I've been there twice, and it wasn't easy either time. The trip requires passage through a windswept, empty desert, not to mention two or three sketchy-looking military checkpoints. But it's worth it – San Felipe's population of fishermen/cooks, for my money, make the best – and probably the first – fish tacos in the world. My mom was in town this week, reminding me of our first trip there together, and so I made this dish.



FISH TACOS WITH GINGERED MANGO SALSA

Time: 30 minutes

Fish:
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless perch fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 scallions, chopped

Mango salsa:
2 mangos
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced, with half its seeds
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all salsa ingredients, veggies roughly chopped, in a food processor and pulse.

Heat three tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Saute scallions for one minute, then saute fish for two. Pour over lime juice, and saute for another minute, until cooked through.

Serve fish in corn tortillas. Pour salsa on top, and garnish with cilantro.

Yield: 4 servings