I try to serve my family fish at least once a week. That’s more difficult than it sounds because my husband thinks fish should be shredded, pressed into sticks, coated with batter and deep-fried. This fish taco recipe is quicker than preheating the oven and cooking a box of fish sticks pulled from the freezer section of the grocery store. It calls for a white fish like tilapia, but catfish fillets work too. Placed on warm corn tortillas with cabbage slaw and a side of squash salad, this dish is not only colorful, but super tasty.

Most gardens are beginning to overflow with yellow and zucchini squash. Pick them when they are small and tender for this easy marinated side salad that goes great with the tacos. Clean two yellow and two zucchini squash. Since they are young and tender, you should not need to peel them. Cut them in half lengthwise and slice across the halves into bite-sized pieces.

Pick a small sweet onion or use both the white and green parts of a couple of scallions and slice thinly. Gather a few sprigs of thyme from your herb garden and strip the leaves from the stem. Whisk together the juice from 2 lemons, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss this mixture with the squash and onions and set aside to marinate while you make the tacos.

Wash and dry the fish fillets. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet on medium-high. Sprinkle a little rub (recipe below) on each side of the fish and gently place in the hot oil. The fish will cook quickly, so keep an eye on it. With a spatula, lift the edge of the fillets and when nicely browned on the bottom, flip over to brown the other side. The fish is done when the middle is completely white and is easily flaked with a fork. Turn off the heat and remove the fish, placing on a paper-towel-lined platter. Let rest while you prepare the slaw.

Core half a head of cabbage and shred. Now for the fun part, you can choose the next ingredients based on what you were able to find fresh at the farmer’s market or in the produce aisle. Choose 3 from any of the following: radishes, any color onion, celery, carrots, jicama, apple, etc. Keep it simple, and the ratio is about 2 parts cabbage to 1 part all the other freshly shredded ingredients combined.

Create a dressing by whisking together ½ cup plain yogurt, ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons honey and ¼ teaspoon celery seed. Mix with the shredded vegetables until all are coated.

Now it’s time to plate the dinner. An adult serving consists of a small-sized fish fillet separated into pieces and laid on two warm corn tortillas with slaw on top. Serve a helping of marinated squash with the two tacos and enjoy.

Spicy rub recipe:
1 Tbsp. Paprika
2 tsp. Black Pepper
1-1/2 Tbsp. Salt
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tsp. Cayenne pepper (cut in half for less heat)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
Mix all ingredients together and keep in an air tight container. This spicy rub is great on fish, pork or chicken.