Recipe For Mexican Style Fish With Potatoes And Salsa

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So far, the Accidental Locavore has stuck to my once-a-week seafood goal. A piece of cod found in the freezer clean-out inspired this recipe, based on one of my favorites: Rick Bayliss' Mexican Everyday. Below is his recipe, for 4 people. It's easy and fast. I use half the potatoes and fish to serve 2 and keep the rest of the salsa for other uses. 

• 4 medium new or Yukon Gold potatoes (1lb) sliced 1/4" thick
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
• Salt
• 1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes (fire roasted if you can find them)
• 1 large garlic clove, cut in half
• 1/3 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup sliced, pickled jalapeños ( use jarred nacho slices), plus 1 tablespoon of the liquid
• 4 4-6 ounce skinless fish fillets (mahi mahi, halibut, black cod, a firm white fish works best here)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the potatoes in a microwave and oven-safe dish big enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer. Drizzle on the oil, sprinkle with salt, toss to combine and place the potatoes in a single layer. Cover and microwave until the potatoes are barely tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the food processor combine the tomatoes with their juice, garlic, cilantro and jalapeños and their juice. Process until puréed with a little texture.

Layer the fish in a single layer over the potatoes. Top with the salsa.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the fish flakes and is just opaque in the thickest part. Serve and enjoy!

My verdict: this time I used my own Mexican tomatillo salsa (click here for the recipe) and the cod from the freezer. It was good but not great. The cod would have stood up to the regular tomatoes and jalapeños. With the tomatillo salsa I would have liked a sweeter white fish. Adding a good squirt of lime helped. If you do want to use your own, or a jarred salsa, just leave out the last four ingredients (keep the jalapeños if you like the heat).