If there’s one thing that I really love about the onset of warmer weather is the availability of some of my favorite herbs and vegetables and getting my own stuff right from our garden. While our little patch isn’t there just yet, we have been seeing some great ingredients in our local fruit and vegetable market.

This recipe is a flavor bomb of delicious green veggies and is incredibly quick. If you make the gazpacho ahead of time, you only need to season mahi-mahi fillets and give them a quick grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side and you’re at the table depending on what sides you’re looking to serve with it. Here’s how this one’s done.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped English hothouse cucumber (about 1/2 large)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 to 3 cloves of peeled and smashed garlic
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 2 chopped seeded serrano chiles (i remove the ribs as well before chopping)
• 2 7-to 8-ounce mahi-mahi fillets
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 ounces small red and yellow cherry, pear, or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine cucumber, onions, cilantro, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and chiles in processor. Use a combination of on off turns or grinds and chops, blending the mixture until finely chopped. The consistency should be a wet, loose paste that has the consistency of a thicker soup.

Transfer to bowl. Season with more vinegar, if desired, and salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle fish fillets on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook 5 minutes. Turn over, cover, and cook until fish is just opaque in center, about 5 minutes.

Use a serving spoon to create a pool of gazpacho on two plates. Top each with 1 fish fillet. Scatter tomatoes atop and around fish and serve.

And that’s all there is to it. This is a really refreshing, tasty dish that blends a good mix of heat and power punch of delcious green veggies. Let me know if you try it. If you use the amounts above, you’ll undoubtably have leftover Gazpacho sauce that will be a fantastic quick lunch or salad dressing. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 large fillets Tilapia
• 1 large lime juiced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup of gold tequila
• 4 teaspoons southwest seasoning or Cholula dry seasoning
• 1/2 yellow pepper diced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 1/4 cup of diced cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Lightly season both sides of the Tilapia Fillets with seasoning.
2. Melt butter in a medium sized skillet over medium high heat and add Tilapia fillets. Cook for two to three minutes and turn fish.
3. Briefly remove the fish from the pan, scrape up flakes and seasoning. Add vegetables and tequila. Simmer for two minutes and return fish to pan. Allow fish to rewarm before removing from heat and serving. Be sure fish is cooked through. It should be fork tender and flaky.

Another incredibly simple recipe that’s really big on flavor. The onions, the lime and the veggies really add something special to the fish. It’s also one of the fastest and most difficult things you can screw up. Goes really well with a rice pilaf or a Spanish rice. Veggies like asparagus or even potatoes are awesome with the lime, tequila sauce drizzled over the top as well.

If you try it, let me know how it goes.

Vita and I have been working out a lot lately and are on a big health kick. That means more seafood. Tonight, I prepared a Salmon sauteed with Butter, Dill and Garlic. Very simple, but big on flavor. Here we go.

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup of dill, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Old Bay

Preparation:

1. In a large skillet, melt butter and begin to saute garlic over a medium high heat. As the butter melts season salmon fillets with salt and fresh black pepper.
2. Once all the butter has melted add the dill and place the fish in the pan.

3. Saute the fish for about 3-and-a-half minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Turn over and saute for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the fish becomes fork tender.

That’s it. It’s incredibly simple, really delicious and very quick. The garlic adds a scampi like flavor, while the dill gives real depth to the rest of the fish. We served our salmon with our Green Been, Mozzarella and Tomato Salad (Recipe here).

This is also a very quick grilled meal, so it’s perfect for when you’re short on time. We served it with a side of green beans.

Ingredients:

Teriyaki Sauce ( I like this recipe from Tyler Florance)

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Juice of 2 oranges
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup scallion, chopped
• 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

Other ingredients

• Two salmon steaks
• 1/2 pineapple, cut into spears
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 2 cups of green beans

Preparation:
1. Combine all teriyaki ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour before use.

2. After marinade has come together, add it to your salmon steaks and let it rest in a large zip lock bag for up to eight hours, but a minimum of 15 minutes. It can be brushed on if you don’t want the flavors to penetrate the fish.

3. Preheat grill and be sure to use a non-stick grill spray, or even butter to be sure that your fish doesn’t stick.

3. Just how long your fish should be grilled can only be estimated by size and shape. For a 1/2-inch cut of salmon, I’ll leave the grill at a medium highe heat and you should cook the first side 3 to four minutes before I flip. Then it’s about a solid 4 minutes on the second side.

4. After you’ve cooked the first side of your fish, add the pineapple, allow grill marks to appear and turn frequently. You want it to get warm enough for the juices to get going in there, but you don’t want to cook it so long that it might dry out.

Super good, super easy. Enjoy!

After my wife left this morning for 30 hours of surgical call, I had trouble falling back asleep. Our dog, Rafiki, wasn’t ready to climb out of my bed at that particular hour, so at 5 a.m. I hit the kitchen by my lonesome.

Determined to make a sans egg breakfast, I searched our fridge for things I could whip together. My eyes lit up when I noticed the three fillets of Tilapia, the cardboard fish. I also spied some cilantro, pickled jalepeno pepper, red onion and tortillas. Yes, Fish Tacos would be my breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 1 fillet of Tilapia (think 6 to 8 oz per serving if you’re increasing the recipe)
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1/8 cup of diced red onion
• 1/8 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/8 cup shredded lettuce or greens
• Diced jalepeno to taste
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 small Roma tomato, seeded and chopped

Preparation:
1. Preheat a grill pan or indoor grill to high heat or if you’re not crazy enough to want to eat fish tacos for breakfast at 5 a.m. you can prepare your outdoor grill. Drizzle fish with extra-virgin olive oil to prevent it from sticking to the grill pan or grill. Season fish with salt and pepper, cayenne and cumin (which adds a really nice smoky richness to the fish) to your taste.

2. As your grill preheats (if you’re indoors) heat a small pan and season two tortillas with salt, pepper and cayenne. Don’t add oil to your pan, but season it and rub tortillas into pan, allowing them to brown and crisp.

2. Grill fish 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until opaque. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime down over the fish and remove from the grill pan or grill. Be sure you’ve rolled the lime on your counter to get the juices flowing.

3.Flake fish into large chunks with a fork and spread on fried tortillas. Add cilantro, salsa, sour cream and your veggies and you’ve got a really quick, really different breakfast.

Another variation would be to simmer the fish in enchilada sauce and then serve it with the tortillas. Either way, it’s a fairly quick and nutritious meal that breaks the normal breakfast molds.

Happy eating.

I say “cardboard box” with great affection, because Tilapia is one of the few seafood dishes that will take on the flavors of what you prepare it with, while standing up to most cooking processes. My wife and I decided to take a stab at creating our own Mexican Tilapia in Red Sauce after I tried a similar dish at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Casa Fiesta.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 fillets of Tilapia (fresh or frozen is fine, just make sure frozen is thoroughly thawed)
• 1 can Red Enchilada Sauce (pick your favorite brand and level of heat, we like medium or hot)
• 10-20 Spanish Green Olives (sliced)
• 10-20 Black Olives (sliced)
• 1 diced yellow bell pepper
• 1 diced orange bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• Lime cut into wedges
• 4 tablespoons dry rub mixture (see preparation for dry rub recipe)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Preparation: The Dry Rub
1. Using a pestle and mortar, mix 4 to 5 tablespoons of Original Cholula Seasoning with 1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes, and a few pinches of Kosher salt and black pepper.

2. Rub both sides of each Tilapia fillet with the dry rub mixture and coat lightly with olive oil.

Preparation: Main Course
1. Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.
2. Fry each fillet for a minute and a half on each side.
3. Add Enchilada sauce, cilantro, olives and peppers to the pan and bring mixture to a simmer.
4. Let fillets and veggies simmer for 8 to 10 minutes over a low to medium heat.
5. Plate fillets and serve with a wedge of lime and your favorite margarita.

The recipe really turned out well, so well in fact that I’m regretting not taking pictures as we cooked. I think it would be fantastic with the addition of some Chihuahua cheese served at plating or even some crumbled Queso Blanco. Pico and chips would also accompany this dish very well, or a nice cool, guacamole salad.

Enjoy. And if you try this out, post a comment and let me know how yours turned out!