Tastes great, less allergenic: Fish Taco Night!

Some people say to me, "The poor Duchess. She can't eat anything! What do you feed her?" When I first found out about her abundant allergies to dairy, wheat, egg, peanuts/tree nuts and shellfish (well, okay, clams, but we're avoiding all shellfish for now), I thought the same thing.  For example, I went out and bought a vegan cookbook, only to find that it uses both wheat and copious amounts of peanuts/tree nuts.  Recently, I thought I scored when I found a dairy-free, wheat-free book, but its recipes not only had nuts, but also eggs. 

So along with modifying recipes (the easiest are Asian dishes), I've made up some of my own. Although "allergy free," I think that lots of kids (including the 41-year-old kid known as The Grump) would enjoy them.  So here is my first stab at recipe sharing.  If you try them, let me know how you liked them - and how you modified them.

Tonight we had a fun dish of fish tacos.  My favorite thing about them is that they are more assembly than cooking, so take about 15-20 minutes to go from freezer to table.

Shopping List:

Box of battered fish pieces or sticks (I use the kind that are allergy free)
Corn tortillas
Avocado
Shredded carrot and red cabbage (save time - just get it at the salad bar at the store)

Sauce: (optional)
Yogurt or sour cream
Spices (Sometimes you can find a fish taco spice mix, otherwise, use chili powder, garlic powder, salt and cumin).

Optional:
Shredded cheese

Follow box directions to bake fish.  Meanwhile, use cooking spray to coat a griddle or similar to medium heat.  Also use cooking spray to coat each side of as many corn tortillas as you think you will want to eat (Tip: Do this over the sink for easy clean-up).  Toast each side of corn tortillas for a minute or two until they are pliable but not crispy.  Put on a paper towel on a plate to drain.

Chunk up avocado. 

Sauce: This is the cheat. If you were really making fish tacos you would coat a fillet of fish with interesting spices and grill, then top with a sour cream sauce.  By putting the spices in the sauce, you can better control how spicy/flavorful you're making your dinner. Just add spices to taste to sour cream or plain yogurt. To be honest, this tastes a little weird with the soy yogurt, so I've been passing on it, but I think if you used regular plain yogurt it would be yummy.

Everything should basically be ready around the same time.  Serve by smushing avocado on the tortilla, then top with fish piece, carrot, cabbage, cheese (if using) and a dollop of sauce (if using).   You could even make it into a taco bar depending upon how old and dextrous your little ones are.