Lent for 2013 starts tomorrow. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Lent is the season of the Christian Church that leads up to Easter (the rebirth of Jesus). Lent is seen as a religiously solemn time. As a matter of fact the reason Mardi Gras exists was to have a big, huge party right before Lent began–to sort of tide you over 😉 (doesn’t that just say something about the personality of New Orleans!) There is also a focus on giving things up–that’s why my church (the Episcopal Church) has a tradition that on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday) you have a Pancake Supper–to use up the last of the “luxurious” fats like butter and items like sausage before Lent began.
Walmart gave us the opportunity to do a “Lenten Recipe” this year. Since fish is a traditional food during Lent (some denominations give up meat for part or all of Lent) I decided to make Fish Tacos from scratch!
You don’t have to be Christian to enjoy these Tacos–With the spicy beer sauce they sure don’t taste like you are giving anything up!
For a change of pace you could just make the fish portion of this recipe and serve them as “Fish Nuggets”. You could also make a cheaters version using a frozen battered fish and the Cabbage Slaw.
Corona Battered Fish Tacos
Ingredients
For the Fish:
- 1 LB White Fish I use Swai from the freezer section at Walmart-Catfish would be nice too
- 1 C Corona or other beer
- 1 C Flour
- 2 TBS Cornstarch
- 2 TBS Taco Seasoning
- Oil for Frying
For Cabbage Slaw:
- Cabbage
- 1/2 C Sour Cream
- 1/4 C Mayonnaise
- 1/4 C Lime Juice
- Cilantro to taste
Also Required:
- Flour Tortillas
Optional Garnishes:
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Chopped Onions
Instructions
Cabbage Slaw:
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In a large bowl combine sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice and cilantro.
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Shred 1/2 a cabbage and mix into sour cream mixture. Set aside.
Corona Battered Fish:
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Cut fish into 1 inch chunks.
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Put skillet on a medium heat and pour in about 1/2 to 1 inch of oil.
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Mix together flour, cornstarch and taco seasoning.
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Quickly dredge fish in the flour mixture then set aside
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Add the 1 C of beer into the flour mixture and mix well. You can always add a bit more beer if you need to-it should be the consistency of pancake batter.
***Note: Wet sticks to dry. Wet does not stick to wet. So if you try to put wet batter on raw wet fish, it won't stick well. If you dredge the fish (or chicken or whatever) in something first and THEN dip it in the wet batter it sticks much better***
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Dip the fish pieces in the batter, covering completely, and then fry in small batches.
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Drain well.
Asssembly:
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On a flour tortilla layer Corona Battered Fish, Cabbage Slaw and any additional garnishes (I like cheese). Serve immediately!
I do want to point out one really cool ingredient I use in this recipe-instead of fresh or dried cilantro I used a neat cilantro paste that I found in the refrigerated produce section at my Walmart (right near the fresh herbs). I never have cilantro in the fridge, and I hate to leave it out of recipes because it has such a great flavor. Dried just isn’t the same (although better than nothing). The paste lasts a long time in the fridge without going bad like fresh cilantro would and has a better flavor than dried! Cool eh?
****This is a sponsored post****
Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Corona! That means they are perfect for Fat Tuesday, as well 🙂
I’ve never heard of the rebirth of Jesus. In my church Lent is symbolic of the 40 days that Jesus spent being tempted by the devil and withstanding all temptation for all time. And then there is Easter, the death and resurrection of our Lord. Lent is a very solemn season. ONe in which we should spend time and prayer focusing on what Jesus did for us sinners. We in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod also celebrate Shrove Tuesday. Good pancakes.
Blessings on your Lenten journey.
Lee Ann–When I said “rebirth” I was using it in the same way as “resurrection”–I guess theologically they are different concepts, so perhaps it was just a poor word choice on my part. While I am a firm believer, I realize that my readers have many different beliefs–I was trying to give a very very brief encapsulation of the idea of Lent and keeping it accessible without taking over the entire post 🙂
Just as an interesting point, Lutherans and Episcopalians are actually pretty much theologically the same–the phrase was “in full communion”–in 2001 they signed a document together that basically stated any Episcopal Priest could perform any of the 5 sacraments for any Lutheran church and vice versa–it stopped short of an actual merger because our organizational structure, history and liturgy are distinct–I guess neither side wanted to give any of that up, which I can completely understand.
Here’s an article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/07/us/episcopalians-inaugurate-alliance-with-lutherans.html
Look at how multipurpose I am 🙂
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is not in communion with the Episcopal church not other Lutheran bodies.
Interesting. I did not realize that there was more than one denomination using the term Lutheran.
Looks good, I have never had cilantro go bad, I love it, I eat it thrown in salads raw 😉 Can’t wait to try this recipe Jenn, keep them coming!
Oh my there are some differences. Lol. Just like you have different types of Baptists. Go to YouTube and look up the show Cheers and Lutheran. The clips are hilarious.
Is there any herb you’d suggest for the best chance of success growing indoors (in mid-Atlantic region) this time of year? I tried a rosemary plant, and it didn’t do well. I suspect I wasn’t able to provide enough sunlight, and perhaps putting it in the chill near windows to try to provide enough sunlight didn’t help. I harvested the rosemary and gave up on that plant, leaving me with the container full of good soil. The pastor at my church made the point in his homily yesterday that you perfect what you practice, so be careful what you practice. One thing I’m hoping to practice is gardening.
Lora-Yay! Growing things is great!
Hmmm. I will have to do a bit of research on this. I would think that you could get chives, parsley and maybe basil to grow. You’d do better starting with a plant-I’ve noticed a couple of the grocery stores near me selling herbs in little pots in the refrigerator sections near where you buy fresh herbs. . . if you could buy something like that it would be better than trying to start something from seed.
Another idea would be to take some garlic (organic would be best) split off a couple of cloves and plant them in the dirt with the pointy ends up. keep the soil just moist and they will sprout up and grow nice tall greens that you can cut and use like “garlic chives” in salads and stuff. I can pretty much 99% garantee you success with that one. Then when you’ve used them for a while if they seem to quit growing, just pull them out and plant a couple more cloves!
I’ll probably pull this question out and answer it more fully as a reader’s question soon 🙂
Do you like the herb-in-a-tube thingies? I always try to buy fresh, but finding decent fresh cilantro and basil this time of year can be a challenge.
Tara-I found it to be better than dried, but not as good as fresh. The flavor is a bit “brighter” but not as strong if that makes sense. They say you are supposed to use it in a 1 to 1 ration as you would fresh (ie 1 tsp=1tsp) but I think its a little less strong. Also there are binder ingredients in the paste–it’s not solid cilantro, if that matters to you 🙂
Corona is my favourite beer! I’ve tried batter with lagers and Ales and personally I prefer the ale but I’ve never combined it with a taco so I have another recipe to make this weekend 🙂
Thank you for the information! While cooking, I came across a few organic garlic cloves that have sprouted, so I’m going to plant them. I learned about things I can make with garlic scapes thanks to CSA produce.