Lovely Leftovers - Mediterranean Fish Tacos

The other night, I was in the mood for fish and in the mood for something "Mediterranean"...tomatoes, basil, mint, kalamata olives (which I suddenly have found myself suddenly loving after despising for many, many years...), so I stopped by the local fish market and splurged on some halibut and set off to find a recipe that would transport me to Greece or Italy.

While I went back and forth between creating a recipe or finding the right one, I decided to play around with a couple ideas I had...

First, a bulb of fennel had been sitting in my refrigerator for almost too long, and I needed to do something with it. I decided to roast it with some other veggies, add some chopped tomatoes and seasonings and call it a Mediterranean salsa of sorts....

I love when experiments turn out successful!

The end result was Roasted Fennel and Tomato Salsa. I roasted fennel, onions, garlic and red pepper, and mixed it with fresh tomatoes. You could leave everything raw, too, or you could roast the tomatoes. But I love the sweetness of roasted fennel and onions, but not mushy overcooked tomatoes, so I went half and half. This really came out well! I can see it as a side for fish or chicken, or even as a dip for toasted pita wedges or a bruschetta topping.

Next up was something to make with this gorgeous bunch of fresh mint I bought at Davidian Farms - it called to me from between the cilantro and parsley. I was getting ideas for uses for my new "salsa" so I decided to make this with half the mint...

Zesty Mint Pesto.

Half mint, half parsley, garlic, shallot, toasted walnuts and olive oil. I honestly don't eat a lot of mint, but I have found that I enjoy it.

So, since I spent so much time being creative with my condiments, I was running out of ideas for my fish dinner. I ended up finding a perfectly lovely halibut recipe on Allrecipes, Easy Mediterranean Fish...halibut baked in foil packets with tomatoes, onions, kalamata olives, capers and seasonings. It was DELICIOUS!!!!

In the background is another fabulous side dish from AR, Herbed Greek Roasted Potatoes with Feta Cheese. Oh, my! I highly recommend that one!

So, I had leftover halibut (that they don't exactly give away these days, so you KNOW there was no way the dogs were getting their chops on this one) and a couple of interesting condiments. Whatever shall I do?

How about Mediterranean Fish Tacos? After all, when you think Mediterranean, you think tacos, right?

If I was the kind of girl who planned ahead, I would have had some nice sundried tomato and basil wraps to use, but I used plain old flour tortillas, warmed slightly in the microwave. A little reheated fish, along with the toppings, some Roasted Fennel and Tomato Salsa and a dribble of Zesty Mint Pesto....

Fold it over and enjoy!

I totally forgot feta cheese! I meant to add some, but I just couldn't restrain myself any further! These were really, REALLY tasty! So good that I might not wait for leftover fish to have them again!

And my two new concoctions have lots of promise...I'm planning on using the pesto on some pasta, a marinade and to toss some roasted potatoes in. The salsa will be a great side to chicken, fish or maybe I'll do that bruschetta type appy I was thinking of. Maybe even use it - or both - on some funky new pizza!

My Culinary Deck - The Beginning

Last year I grew a wide assortment of herbs - aside from extra basil and parsley in the vegetable garden - in pots on my deck. While my kitchen doesn't connect directly to the deck, it's definitely close enough to run out and grab a handful of basil or a sprig or two of rosemary in the midst of cooking.


Let's see, last year I grew parsley, chives, garlic chives (didn't do so well), mint, rosemary, sage, marjoram, cilantro (did great as soon as I gave up on it and ignored it), thyme, basil, oregano and some peppers - jalapenos, chili peppers and hot cherry peppers.



This year, I'm off to a bit of a slow start but there's still time...



First, we did a couple big pots of annuals to go on either side of our front entrance.




Problem is, I like seeing that gorgeous cobalt blue lobelia and those pink double impatiens so much that so far they've remained on the deck where I spend more time. We've had quite a rainy spell lately, so everything is waterlogged. I need to go whack those impatiens a few times to get the wilted petals off, making room for some new ones - the color is really pretty and they look like little rosebuds.



I never had luck with basil until last year. I threw a packet of seeds in this window-box planter and left it on our outdoor table (which we never use for eating, because I use it mainly as a potting bench). This was last year's crop...



Mmmm...pesto!

This is how far we've gotten so far...

This time I put two rows of basil the entire length of the planter. It freezes BEAUTIFULLY. Last year's crop lasted me until maybe February? I chop it, pack it into ice cube trays, add a smidge of water and freeze. When the cubes are frozen, I pop 'em out and seal in a plastic Ziploc bag. Each "cube" is about a tablespoon, although if you're like me you rarely measure herbs!

My only issue is, I expect I'm supposed to thin them out somewhat, but I've always had a toughtime deciding who lives and who dies, so I might just let them duke it out.
Sharing a cozy little flowerpot with my friend, Rosemary (who has a twin sister also named Rosemary who lives next door with the Thyme twins) is my one-time nemesis, Cilantro.

Me and Cilantro got off on the wrong foot a few years back, when I made a Black Bean and Orzo salad and went a little too heavy with it. I hated it! Then a few years later I started to acquire a taste for it, tried to grow some, and it hated me right back. This year, we've hopefully put all that in the past...and if all goes well, maybe I'll resurrect that recipe!



Now onto Greece, which I now want to visit, I have some Greek Oregano where the Marjoram once grew...M might be coming back, so they'll be neighbors.

Now onto those boisterous Thyme sisters...

Lemon Thyme is the one with the flowers - she got a haircut shortly after this picture was snapped. I have a large patch of Lemon Thyme and Common Thyme in my front yard - I plopped a couple small plants on the hill, just to get them in the ground one hot summer, and they've been there ever since. Because my husband tends to use fertilizers and other yucky stuff in the front yard I never harvest that for cooking, but I love to squeeze a handful and smell that wonderful lemony-thymey smell. This year I opted for some in pots so I could actually use them. I'm thinking "tea" this summer, and I also saw a recipe somewhere for thyme cookies...lemon thyme might work, too!


Finally, I'm recycling/reviving some chives I found growing in a pot this spring. I put them in the top of a strawberry pot with some coleus in the side pockets for some color.


Oh, that other pot was some sort of heirloom carrot. This is was happened to them...


It's called "Martha" and it is very, very destructive!

But cute...

We'll visit the vegetable patch soon! Thanks for stopping by!