Back a few years ago when were living in the Flathead between Kalispell and Columbia Falls we had sort of a Friday ritual that involved fish tacos.
I was still grinding away in medicine back in those days and we were running a horse farm operation as a family on the side (‘on the side’ being the understatement of the year thus far). My clinic had a group meeting starting at 0600 every Friday and I ran morning-only patient hours on Fridays as most often we were getting ready for some frackin’ event at the barn and there was always a long list of chores to finish off ahead of time.
Busting out of the clinic at noon(ish) on those days I’d drive home, grab the family and we’d run the dozen or so miles to the Coffee Trader’s Cafe in Columbia Falls (damned close to the Main Stem of the Flathead) for lunch, specifically their Friday Fish Tacos for a buck apiece back in the day.
Back then they were serving crunchy fish in shop-made corn tortillas topped by a perfect spicy slaw drizzled with chipotle aioli. It was the best Friday food bargain in the Flathead and you could hardly make tacos that good at home for less. And those fish tacos made the afternoon’s slog of shoveling sh*t, throwing hay, setting up dressage rings or jump courses, etc. go a bit easier.
It was in those days that I realized what a treasure a truly great fish taco is for mankind, prompting a recipe search to craft a worthy slaw for fish tacos. This Southwestern (Fish Taco) Slaw fits the bill nicely – the fish taco is in parentheses as the slaw is mighty tasty standing on its own as a side dish. We’ve added the jicama for it’s sweet, almost nutty crunch and corn after seeing it in some awesome fish tacos in South Texas a few years back.
Good with anything off the grill but made for the fish tacos your mouth is watering for right now.
3 cups green cabbage, hand-cut fine
2 cups jicama, cut into 1-inch long, thin strips
1 cup drained canned ‘mexi-corn’
2-4 tbsp. finely chopped red onion
2-4 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. minced jalapeno chile
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. honey
1-3 tsp. mined chipotle chiles w/ clinging adobe sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
Good salt to taste
This one’s easy. Combine all ingredients, toss to mix well and coat the vegetables with the dressing and spices. Needs at least an hour to marinate and let the flavors meld together.
Enjoy.
