A Rich Spud On the Side

Every year, I have a BBQ to help raise money for The Ottawa Mission. They are a organization that is very near and dear to my heart. Amongst other things, they dedicate themselves to making sure no one goes hungry. They have a kitchen that is open for three meals a day to anyone that who needs it, regardless of their situation. I plan on writing about some of the awesome stuff they did for me in particular, but in the mean time, I’ll leave a link to donate on the bottom.

This year I made four dishes: Roasted Potato Salad, Vegetable Sticks with Hummus, Ravioli Stuffed with Grilled Vegetables and smoked Tomato Sauce, and Smoked then Fried Chicken. The Chicken came out well, but utilized some equipment I built myself. The good news is, I’ve already shared my Hummus recipe here and I plan on sharing the potato salad recip today.

Potato salad is a staple at any BBQ. I can’t think of any other dish, let alone side dish, that can be creamy, light, while still being hardy. This is my 4th year holding this event, and the spud-tastic side has always been a go-to, however this year I took a whole new approach on it. Assuming you’re not a big fan of German cuisine, most of us think potato salad as boiled potatoes mixed with a mayo based dressing, then cooled. If you happen to know the aforementioned Germans Cuisine, then you know they skip the mayo all together.
Instead they take the potatoes right from the boiling water and mix it with oil and vinegar, then season accordingly. The result is the potatoes absorb most of the liquid, giving you more of seasoning opposed to a dressing. My understanding is it’s often served hot.

What I came up with was a mixture of the two, with a twist that I haven’t seen before. The potatoes were very flavourful because I did the german style of “hot mixing” with vinegar and oil, but then added a small amount of mayo and seasoning to give them the creamy texture we all associate with Potato salad. Here is the twist, I roasted the potatoes! They just came out beautifully.
A few side points,

I made a vegan mayo for this recipe. It’s one of the few vegan foods that imitate something else, that I actually find better then the original. Seriously, vegan mayo is better tasting then the store bought mayo you find in stores. So I give it a pass.
I didn’t add hard boiled eggs to this recipe, because of dietary restrictions of some guests who attended. If I were to made it again, this would definitely be added

Here is how I did it:

Vegan Mayo:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2C Soy Milk (If you don’t have Soymilk, or prefer traditional mayo, you can use the recipe found here)
  • 1/2C Canola Oil
  • 1/2C Olive Oil
  • 2t Apple Cider Vinegar
  1. Place all the ingredients in a high thinner cup. I used a measuring cup.
  2. Wait about 1 minute for the oil to float to the top.
  3. Insert the immersion blender into the mixture slowly.
  4. Pulse the blender until you start seeing mayo form.
  5. Once you see the majority of the mixture has emulsified, keep the blender on, and slowly lift the blender up and down until it’s a unified mixture.

Potato Salad:

  • 1lbs Russet Potatoes*
  • Pinch Salt
  • Double Pinch of Pepper
  • 1/4t of Garlic Powder
  • 6T Olive Oil
  • 1.5T Lemon Juice
  • 1.5T Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1.5oz Onion
  • 3/4oz Celery
  • 2T Mayo
  1. Wash, dry and Cut Potatoes into 3/4″ squares. Leave the skin on, they add a wonderful
  2. Toss the cut potatoes in 1T of olive oil until they are throughly covered
  3. Place oiled potatoes directly on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a convection oven (375 degrees in a non convection oven) for 30 minutes. Make sure to mix the potatoes up half way through.
  4. While the potatoes cook, mix all the other ingredients except the onion, celery and mayo into a bowl, mix as well as you can. The oil and vinegar will want to separate, which is fine. This will be your seasoning.
  5. Check to see if the potatoes are soft, golden-brown and delicious, if they need more time, crank the oven up 50 degrees, and check on them every 10 minutes until they are ready. Make sure to mix them every time you look at them.
  6. Once your potatoes are done, quickly put them directly from the oven, into a a clean mixing bowl. Then pour the seasoning, onto the hot potatoes and quickly mix until the potatoes have absorbed all the liquid.
  7. Mix in celery, onion and mayo.
  8. Place in fridge overnight and serve.
  9. Take a fancy photo, and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #foryourfoulmouth

*I used Potatoes my roommate picked up from a farmers market. They were very unusual. They had paper thin skins, and even after 45 minutes in the oven, they didn’t really brown. They were very delicious, but I switched the recipe to russet. Since I have no way of knowing what I actually used, and feel they weren’t the best choice.

Donate to the Ottawa Mission: Here

Purée-ly Delicious

Sometimes, the difference between good and great is 2%. At least that’s what I told John, a class mate of mine; because my class average was 2% higher than his. At the time I meant it as a joke, but I think I might have been on to something. A better way to say it, might be ‘Sometimes, the different between good and great are the fine details.’ I bring this up because I was in the mood to make Hummus, and this is a perfect example of something that can be great, if you look after all the small details. The recipe I give down below is not based on the recipe we use at my place of employment, but I do make hummus at work at least twice a week. Here are some tips that I’ve learned:

Try and use a very good food processor. A cheap or low quality one will make the job longer. Personally, I find it takes a good 7-10 minutes of processing before the hummus is soft and creamy, longer with a cheap processor. If you’re in a situation where your processor isn’t up to the task, run it as long as you can, and when you feel it get hot, let the processor rest for ten or fifteen minutes, then continue. Keep doing this until your hummus is ready. Tahini on the other hand, you definitely can’t fake. If you’re like me, you may have to buy Tahini if you don’t and have a top notch food processor.

Consistency is a bit fickle. I find as I’m adding liquid, at first you’ll have to add a lot before you’ll see a big difference in consistency, but as the hummus loosens, you’ll see even a little bit will make a big difference

Finally, there are only a few ingredients in hummus, and as I mentioned in past posts, the fewer the number ingredients you have in a recipe, the more important the quality of each one is. So make sure to use the best ingredients you can get your hands on.

All that being said, there was one fine detail that I felt could elevate my hummus game, and that was roasting the chickpeas. Chickpeas are perfect candidates for roasting! That’s because they are high in proteins and starches, which cause them to undergo the Maillard Reaction. Which is chemists speak for, heat makes them golden brown and delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 12C Chickpeas
  • 10 Cloves of Garlic
  • 2T Canola Oil
  • 2T Water
  • 2 12T Tahini
  • 2T Lemon Juice
  • 12T Salt
  • 1 12T Extra Virgin Olive
  1. Place dried chickpeas in a container, fill the container with water so that it covers the chickpeas by two inches, seal container and place in fridge overnight.
  2. If the chickpeas are still good, they should have doubled or tripled in size. If that’s the case discard the water, put the chickpeas in a pot and fill with fresh water until the water just covers the chickpeas. Set the stove to max heat.
  3. Bring the water to a boil, then lower heat to its lowest setting and place the lid on the pot. Let sit until the chickpeas become soft. It takes about an hour and a half to two hours.
  4. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit on conventional oven, or 400 degrees on a non conventional oven. Drain and dry the chickpeas, then lightly cover with Canola oil. Make sure to save the water they were cooked in.
  5. Place the garlic in a ramekin, with a pinch of salt and pepper, two table spoons of water, and two table spoons of canola oil.
  6. Place your oil covered chickpeas on a parchment lined baking sheet, then place your chickpeas and ramekin with the garlic into the pre-heated oven. The chickpeas should take about 20 to 30 minutes to become golden brown, while the garlic should thake ablut 25 to 35 minutes to achieve the same.
  7. Place two cups of your roasted chickpeas, roasted garlic, the oil the garlic was cooked in, tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of salt into your food processor.
  8. Turn your food processor on, until your chickpeas are coarse in size.
  9. Turn the processor off and scrape down the sides of the interior of the processor bowl and add a little of the reserved chickpea cooking liquid.
  10. Repeat step 9 until the chickpeas make a uniformed paste, and is CLOSE to the consistency you’re looking for. Remember, at first it will take more liquid for the consistency of the hummus to change, but be careful because as it thins out, a little bit of the reserved liquid will make a much bigger change, I ended up using 5.5floz of the reserved cooking liquid.
  11. Add the Olive Oil, and continue to process until the hummus takes on a creamy consistency.
  12. Repeat step 9 until the hummus is the desired consistency. The hummus will thicken when you put it in the fridge, so keep that in mind.
  13. Place hummus in fridge overnight, and taste for seasoning the next day. Add salt as needed.
  14. Take a fancy Photo and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #foryourfoulmouth!

Less Is More… More Or Less: My Opinion On “Gourmet” Cooking

Gourmet used to mean something was made with care, and with the highest standards. Something weird has happened; it’s changed over the last little while. It now means mediocre food with boat loads of lifeless processed toppings and ingredients. So while having a paragraph of 20 items listed under a menu item might feel like you’re getting a bang for your buck, I ask an important question: Since when did more start meaning better?

No one would say “more aids, that’s better!” or even something that is generally considered good in a culinary sense, like salt. We never associate ‘an abundance of salt’ with being positive!

So while I couldn’t care less if food is “gourmet,”  I do care that it’s flavourful and delicious. I believe something as simple as a salad can become amazing with only a handful of ingredients, properly prepared and picked for the flavour, texture and general contribution to the overall dish. It’s more “haute-cuisine” than anything you’d see in a “gourmet” eatery.

While the mise en place for this may look a little long for a salad, there are only 5 components.

Greens, garlic parm sourdough croutons, marinated Heirloom tomatoes, red onions and white balsamic vinaigrette.

Imagine seeing that on a menu. Doesn’t it just give you the imagery of crunchy croutons and spinach that just compliments the softness of other ingredients? The sweetness, bitterness, and tanginess from the onions, mixed greens, and vinaigrette mixing with the explosion of flavour that skinless marinated tomatoes will give you?

Give it a try! Mother’s Day is soon, and I’m sure your mom will love this. I know mine will!  Let me know what both of you think!

Peeled Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

  • 1 Pint Cherry Heirloom Tomatos
  • 7 Grams Fresh Basil
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
  • 5 teaspoon of diced sweet onions
  • 1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

White Balsamic Vinaigrette:

    Grainy Dijon mustard

  • 1 Large Sweet Onion
  • 3 cloves garlic whole, skin removed.
  • 1 Tablespoon Grainy Mustard
  • 3/4 Cup Strained Marinade from Tomatoes
  • 3/4 Cup Canola
  • 2 Basil Leafs
  • 1/2 Cup White Balsamic Vinegar

Sour Dough Croutons:

  • Slice of Sough dough Bread (Mine was 116g)
  • 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 11g Parmesan (freshly grated, the stuff in the bottle will not work)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Final Ingrdients:

  • Spinach to taste
  • Arugula to taste
  • Red onion 3/8″ x 1/2″ to taste

The Marinated Tomatoes are the star of the show here, and being the diva ingredient they are, they need the most alone time, so let’s start with these:

  1. Wash the heirloom Tomatoes. These things spend most of their life on a truck, in open containers. Would you want to lick someone who spent that much time in the back of a truck? Exactly, wash them!
  2. Cut little crosses on the bottom of each Tomato. Do your best to cut the skin, and not into the flesh of your tomato. A Pearing knife, or small serrated knife will work well.
  3. Fill up a big bowl with ice water. I didn’t have ice, so I used ice packs, which worked well.
  4. Bring a big pot o’water to a boil, then put your Tomatoes in the pot.
  5. Using a slotted spoon, move the Tomatoes around until you see the skin near the ‘cross cuts’ starting to peel away. Quickly take the Tomatoes out of the boiling water, and place them into the ice water. The whole process should take about 30 seconds from when you put them in, to when you remove them. We don’t want these Tomatoes to cook, we just want the skin to loosen. The ice water stops the cooking, and shocks the skin.
  6. After a few minutes of the Tomatoes cooling down, gently peel the skins from each Tomatoe. Discard the skin, and place the ‘naked’ Tomatoes aside.
  7. Roll all the Basil together, then cut them as thinly as possible. You should end up with little strips of basil. Place basil into a mixing bowl big enough to hold the Tomatoes.
  8. Juice the lemon, and Zest half of it. Place both of these items into the same bowl as the Basil.
  9. Into the same bowl as the Lemon and the Basil, whisk together the Olive Oil, Salt, pepper, and diced Onions.
  10. Place the Naked Tomatoes into the mixing bowl, and gently mix until they are covered. Place in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, but no longer than 12 hours.
  11. Remove the Naked Tomatoes from the marinade, and place covered in a clean bowl or Tupperware. Let them sit in the fridge over night. The excess oil will drop off, so you’re left with an end product that isn’t too greasy, and is just perfect. Meanwhile, save the marinade for your White Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Next, let’s work on the Sour Dough Croutons:

  1. Pre-heat your convection oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or your non-convection oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Take some 1/2″ slices of Sough Dough Bread. I used two, and cut them into 1/2″ cubes, then put them into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Next mix in canola oil, and mix until every price of bread is evenly coated. Next cover with Pepper and mix again, you want beautiful black specks covering the bread evenly.
  4. Mix in your grated Parmesan. Only do a little at a time, it absorbs oil very fast, so doing it this way will prevent it from clumping together.
  5. Taste a piece of your seasoned bread. Parmesan is very salty, so don’t add the salt until you’ve tasted it at this stage. Remember, cooking these will remove the moisture making it saltier. So you’re better off adding less than you think you’ll need. Once you’ve accounted for all that, add salt to taste.
  6. Put the seasoned bread on a parchment lined baking sheet. And place in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. You’re looking for a nice colour to form, and that will vary depending on different factors. So don’t walk away.
  7. Lower your oven temp to 200 degrees Fahrenheit in a convection oven, or 175 degrees Fahrenheit in a non convection oven. If you’re using the latter, I’d suggest leaving your oven door open a for about 5 minutes. Do this for about 10 minutes, or until the croutons are nice and crunchy.
  8. Remove from baking sheet, and let cool on the side until needed.

Finally, the White Balsamic Vinaigrette! This stuff is amazingly good. If you don’t have White Balsamic, you can use any decent tasting Vinegar, as long as it’s not syrupy. So Regular Balsamic isn’t a good idea.

  1. Remove skin from the onion and garlic, and slice Onion into 1/4″ rounds.
  2. Put a cast iron pan on high, with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once it’s nice and hot, place the in the onions and garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
  3. Lower the temperature down to medium low. Stir occasionally, until the onions and garlic become golden and caramelized. This is going into a dressing, so I bring them down into a paste.
  4. Place a moist tea cloth down on the counter, and make a doughnut shape. Place a big mixing bowl in the hole of the ‘doughnut’.
  5. Using a Whisk or an immersion blender, mix all the White Balsamic Vinaigrette ingredients together, except the Canola oil, salt and the marinade from the Tomatoes. Continue until throughly incorporated.
  6. Slowly add in the Canola Oil. A few drops at a time at first, then as the mixture starts to emulsify, a little faster. Once all the oil is mixed in, repeat process with Marinade mixture.
  7. Add salt to taste. Remember, only Salt it a little at this stage. You’re going to serve it cold, so do the final seasoning after it’s been chilled. Which remind me….
  8. Place into clean container, and chill in fridge for a minimum of 2-3 hours.
    Taste and adjust for seasoning

Finally, let’s make the final product. I didn’t give measurement for the mixed greens. It’s a salad; use your best judgment. I personally love Arugula, so I put more of it then most people do, but here is how you should construct it.

  1. Wash your spinach and mixed greens. I don’t care if the bag says ‘pre-washed’. This week alone, I found a moth in a bag labeled pre-washed and last week I found a lady bug. Seriously, it’s for your mom, and you know she’d wash it for you.
  2. Mix the greens together in a large salad bowl along with the onion and croutons.
  3. The Tomatoes are fragile, so mix them in last, along with the dressing.
  4. Take a fancy photo, and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #foryourfoulmouth

I Haddock a Big Hankering

I was in the mood for some fish tacos, which was perfect because Cinco de Mayo was just around the corner! This dish, I originally assumed, started it’s life as tex-mex. In actuality it’s originally from Baja-California, Mexico and was originally called Tacos de Pescad, or Codnoscenti. It was basically a traditional taco, with battered fish in place of the pork/beef. From what I can tell, since then it has been given an English name and adopted by pub and resto bar menus across America and Canada. It’s my assumption that it’s northern migration was what lead it to evolve into what we know today here north of the mexican border. There is something about the mix of crispy, savoury, and sweet, with a Mexican twist, that’s just unparalleled.

Apple Slaw, Rum Battered Haddock, and Homemade Corn Taco shells were the main things I wanted to experiment with. As stated above, I feel this is known more as pub fair than authentic Mexican cuisine, so I wasn’t too worried about ingredients usaly found in Mexico. However, since there is something wrong with my brain, I also felt that home-making the corn tortilla and the mayo for the slaw was non-negotiable. This is a long recipe, but nothing is overly complicated about it. I urge any new cooks to try making it. Most of it can be made in advance, which means you can make this over a day or two, and not have to try so many new things at once.

I don’t know how other food blogs manage to have long stories before they get to their recipes, so let’s get right into the guts of this.

Corn Taco Shells:

  • 1 cup Massa
  • Juice and zest from 1/2 lime
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups of hot tap water
  • Salt to taste

Apple Slaw and Dressing:

  • 1 Egg yolk
  • 3/4 canola oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
  • Salt/pepper to taste
  • 1 Honey Crisp Apple
  • 2 Jalapeño Peppers
  • 1 Small Stock of Celery
  • 3 Heirloom Carrots
  • 1 Yellow Onion

Pico de Gallo:

  • 1 Hot House Tomato
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 a Lime
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Crispy Haddock and Seasoning:

  • 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 2 Pieces of Haddock
  • 1 Cup Bread Flour
  • 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • Rum to colour
  • Water To Consistency
  • Salt and pepper

First, let’s make the Tortilla that we will make into a Taco shell

  1. In a big mixing bowl add the Massa, 2 pinches salt, and the lime’s zest and juice.
  2. While lightly, but continuously, mixing with a spatula, slowly add about 1/3 of the hot water. The mixture should should start to clump together. At this point, you can start working the dough with your hand while you slowly add little bits of water. Once the dough can form a ball that doesn’t crumble you can discard the remaining water. The final dough ball should be soft, and feel a bit moist to the touch. if it feels a dry put it back in the bowl and work in more hot water. a little too moist is better then too dry. Really it should feel like Play-Doh. If you never used play-doh, let your mom know she failed you. This is officially part of the recipe, so you have to do it, or it won’t work.
  3. Place ball under a damp towel, or in plastic wrap for twenty minutes. this will give the Masa time to evenly distribute the liquid. this can also be left in the fridge for a day or two covered in plastic.
  4. Massa Dough right After FormedDivide the ball into 4, and roll each section into its own ball. Cover all of them with plastic wrap.
  5. If you have a Tortilla press, follow the directions that came with it to make your dough into tortillas, then skip to step 13.
  6. Masa disk on sheet of 2I personally don’t believe in buying things I will use twice a year, unless its a matter of safety or necessity. So I don’t own a tortilla press, however I have come up with a way to make perfect tortillas. Lay out a 1.5′ sheet of Parchment, and put your 1 dough ball in the centre.
  7. Push the dough ball with your palm so it’s a disk shape then cover with a 1.5′ sheet of plastic wrap
  8. Massa rolled out slightly bigger than my bowlUse a rolling pin to roll the dough ball just until it’s wider than a soup bowl. Make sure to roll back and forth and side to side. FYI: At first your plastic wrap may cling to the dough causing it to curl upward. Simply lift the plastic wrap off the dough, gently place the dough down and put the plastic back. If the parchment becomes wrinkled, simply pull its corners.
  9. Using a bowl to get my tortilla the perfect shapeGently remove your plastic wrap and place a bowl upside down on your dough, using a butter knife cut around the rim of your bowl, this will give you perfectly shaped tortillas. Use the scrap pieces to fill any cuts, are place the rest to the side. There is no gluten in Masa, so you don’t have to worry about over working it.
  10. The Masa after second rolling. It finally looks like a TortillaPlace the plastic wrap back on top of the dough and use rolling pin thing out the tortilla to about 1/6″
  11. Repeat step 9.
  12. My pile of Tortilla dough waiting to be cookedSlowly peel the tortilla off the parchment, and place on the side till you’re ready to cook them. I place all the tortillas on top of each other with a piece of parchment paper to separate them. Cover with plastic wrap, or damp cloth.
  13. Repeat steps 6 – 12 until all the dough balls are gone.
  14. Finally It's a tortilla! you want those beautiful spots on them. Sadly only the first side will have them that perfect.Cook each tortilla one at a time on a non greased cast iron pan set to high heat. If you don’t have cast iron, you can use a stainless steel pan, but you will have to wait longer in between cooking each tortilla for the stainless to regain its heat. It should take about 30-40 seconds on the first side, and about 20 seconds on the other side. They may puff up, thats a good thing, it means they are well rolled.
  15. Let cool for about 5 minutes, and then place in zip -loc bag until you’re ready to fry them.
  16. Heat up a pot with filled with 1/4″ of canola oil. You’re looking to reach around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 200 degrees Celsius.
  17. I use the corner of the pot to hold the tortilla in shape.Using tongs, pick up a cooked tortilla, and lower it into the oil so that only half of it is frying. Using the a wooden spoon push down any big bubbles that form.
  18. Using the tongs, tun the tortilla 180 degrees, and fold so it’s shaped like a taco shell.
  19. Corn Tortillas are just amazing. The Subtle addition of Lime just makes them out of this world.Once the shell holds its shape, move to the side and sprinkle with salt.

Next, the Pico de Gallo

  1. Dice up the Hot House Tomato and Red Onion into a 1/8″ cubes
  2. Cut the garlic into a Fine dice
  3. Juice Lime and set aside
  4. Mix the Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic in a large bowl
  5. Add Lime Juice, Salt and Pepper a little at a time until you’re happy with the taste. You want this to be slightly on the stronger side, because the other ingredients will slowly release liquid and water down the intensity.
  6. Put in fridge to chill, minimum an hour, ideally overnight.

Let’s not forget the Apple Slaw

  1. Place a damp tea towel in a circle shape on the counter, and place large mixing bowl on top. This will hold the bowl still while you’re working.
  2. Add Egg yolk, Dijon mustard and White Wine Vinegar into the large bowl, and whisk until you have a mixture that’s a solid colour.
  3. Slowly add Canola Oil into mixture while whisking. The oil should emulsify into the mixture so you have a solid consistent dressing. You don’t want the mixture to break, so you’re better off adding it too slowly, than too fast.
  4. Hot House Tomato Sliced into rounds, then sticks then diced
    When about 3/4 of the oil is added, stop and add salt and pepper to taste. You will season again at the end, but this will better distribute the seasoning, and give you a bench mark of what it should taste like when you do your final seasoning.
  5. Add the rest of the oil while whisking just as before
  6. Once all the oil is added, taste and adjust for final seasoning.
  7. Put dressing into fridge until needed
  8. Apple Sliced the same way as the Tomato for the Pico de GalloApple Sliced the same way as the Tomato for the Pico de Gallo, into 1/8″ rounds, then cut into sticks. The apple should have a little bit of peel on both ends.
  9. Cut Carrots into 1/8″ by 3″ sticks by cutting them into half, then each half cut into strips, then each strip into sticks
  10. Mince Celery as thin as possible. They should be almost transparent.
  11. Jalapeño's get their heat from their seeds, So make sure to remove them if you don't want it too hot. Dice the Yellow Onion and Jalapeño into 1/4″. Make sure to discard the seeds from the Jalapeño.
  12. Mix all the ingredients except the dressing into a mixing bowl, then add the dressing desired amount of dressing to the bowl. Place slaw covered in the fridge overnight. This will allow the dressing to break down the toughness, and give the flavours a chance to meld.

Finally. The last Mise En Place you will need, the Crispy Fish. Everything else could be done the day before, but this is the best when it done right before eating.

  1. Mix together Chili powder, paprika,  Cumin, Cayenne, Onion Powde and Garlic Powder into a small bowl.
  2. Cut the Haddock into strips, 1/2″ by 3″ and lay out on a cutting board or baking sheet.
  3. The Measurements are all approximate. As you can see the one on the far left was a thinner piece, so I cut it wider to make up for it.Cover Haddock strips with spice mixture on all sides evenly and liberally. Set aside until needed.
  1. In a small bowl mix together Bread Flour, Corn Starch and Baking Powder.
  2. Fill up a pot or frying pan about 1/4″ with canola or peanut oil. If your using a frying pan, make sure you choose one that has sides that are a least double the height of the oil. Put it on a burner at medium heat and let it heat up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  3. Whisk flour mixture and slowly add rum until batter reaches a amber colour. It should be noted that I had just a little less than enough rum on hand when I took the photos. Ideally my batter would have been darker; however I did get to do my impression of Jack Sparrow saying ‘But why is all the Rum Gone?’
  4. Whisk in water until batter is the right consistency. You’re looking for a viscosity similar to whipping cream.
  5. Lay each piece of seasoned Haddock into the batter, making sure the Haddock is completely covered. Remove the Haddock from the batter and let the extra batter drip off, and place on a wire rack.
  6. Place two or three pieces of the batter covered Haddock into the hot oil and let it cook, make sure to turn over when the bottom is golden brown. Once the second side is cooked, remove the fish and place on paper towel covered plate and sprinkle lightly with Salt.
  7. Repeat step 6 until all the Haddock is cooked

And the final assembly!

  1. Generously place Apple Slaw in your taco shell
  2. Place two pieces of the Crispy Haddock on top of the Apple Slaw
  3. And a thin layer of Pico de Gallo on top of the Crispy Haddock
  4. Finally Top the whole thing with an Avocado wedge
  5. Take a fancy photo, and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #foryourfoulmouth
*sources http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/flavors-of-the-west/in-search-real-fish-taco, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taco (I generally don’t like wiki as a source, but it had citations)