Not-Too-Fiery Fish Tacos, Black Bean Salsa, Green Salad

We fell in love with the Fiery Fish Tacos on AllRecipes three or four years ago. Now that we have a child, though, we aren't able to make things quite as spicy as we used to. In this milder version, I'll try using mahi mahi (since that's what's on sale this week) but you could easily use tilapia and simply decrease the cooking time by a few minutes.

If you like spicy foods, double or triple the cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. Or just pass tabasco at the table like you always do. :)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion (you can use white onion if that's all you have on hand)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 c Italian dressing

1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
1 T vegetable oil
1 lb mahi mahi, cut into 2 oz strips
8 tortillas
1/2 c sour cream
avocado (optional), sliced
red salsa (optional)
lime juice (optional)

green salad


Prepare the black bean salsa at least 1 hour before dinner, or start the day before. Combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and Italian dressing in a medium bowl. Chill in the fridge. (Extra black bean salsa can be stored in the fridge for a few days, and is delicious with tortilla chips.)

In a small bowl, mix together cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, and oil. Coat mahi mahi with oil/spice mixture. Coat a pan very well with cooking spray and heat to medium-high heat. Saute fish 4-5 minutes per side, or until fish flakes easily with a fork; decrease heat to medium if fish browns too quickly. For each taco, top a tortilla with 1 strip of fish, black bean salsa, sour cream, and, if desired, avocado, salsa, and lime juice.

*I've eaten mahi mahi at restaurants before, but I've never bought it and cooked it myself. I like that it is another mild white fish, but it's definitely meatier than some mild fish like tilapia. The particular mahi mahi I bought at the store came with the skin on one side, and we wanted to remove it before eating. It was too difficult to try to remove the skin from the raw fish, so we cooked it skin side down first. Then we flipped it and removed the skin as the fish cooked on the second side. In the end, we flipped the fish back to the first side so it could get a little brown. It worked out fine, and we enjoyed our fish tacos!