Moroccan Spiced Fish

A couple of weeks ago Kevin and I went to BJ's Brewhouse and I ordered a Moroccan Spiced Salmon. It was easily one of the best fish I've ever had! The spice had a rich, earthy taste that reminded me a little bit of curry. Kevin's not a fan of curry, but he also really liked my dish! I finished my meal and wanted to place a to go order! Lol I decided to try and find a copy cat recipe. I couldn't find one, but after searching for Moroccan spices, I found a spice that I thought might have been used on the fish I had. I decided to try William-Sonoma's Ras El Hanout because of the bright red color of the spice, which reminded me of the fish I had at BJ's. McCormick's also makes Ras El Hanout, which I more readily available, but I was already at Williams-Sonoma for something else.

We bought steelhead trout instead of salmon and it was delicious!!! It didn't have as much of the flavor of the spice like at the restaurant so I think next time I will rub the spice on and let it sit and marinate for about 1 hour or longer instead of just of 15 minutes. I may also play with some sort of sauce like the one at BJ's. Here's my version:

Gather it:
2 filets of fish (I would pick sturdier fish like salmon or steelhead instead of something like tilapia)
2 Tbsp of Ras El Hanout
1Tbsp of olive oil

Make it:
1) Put 1 Tbsp of Ras El Hanout and rub into the fish (preferably doing this at least an hour before hand and refrigerating for deeper flavor).

2) Heat 1Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and swirl to coat bottom of a large frying pan.

3) Depending on the thickness of your fish, fry one side for 5-6 minutes and the second side for another 5 minutes. My filets were thick and it took this long to cook through. 

We had ours with couscous, just my favorite boxed kind in the pasta/rice section at Publix. I mixed  in some sliced green onions and few twists of the pepper grinder. I can't wait to experiment with this new spice!!!

Oven Baked Salmon with Butter and Lime

I had nothing to do with this dish...this was Kevin's concoction. I watched him do the prep and it was really pretty easy. We had it with rice and quinoa and steamed cauliflower. It was a really good healthy meal! The kids typically won't eat fish by itself, but we break up the fish into smaller chunks and mix it in with the rice/quinoa and they gobble it up.

FYI: this was our salmon before it went in the oven. 

Gather it:
salmon filet (we got ours at Costco...just under $11 for the whole filet shown above)
about 2 Tbsp melted butter
juice of half of a lime plus a few lime rings
salt
pepper
dried parsley
dried cilantro
dried dill

Make it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and place salmon on top.

2. Pour melted butter, squeeze lime wedges, and sprinkle remaining 5 ingredients on both sides of salmon. Place a few lime rings on top of filet...I think this just might be "decoration" though. lol

3. Make a loose envelope with the foil by bringing the 2 long sides together in the middle and folding it down. Roll the short sides together.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until fish is done. Our filet wasn't very thick so it didn't take long to cook.

fish stick tacos

I've never been a fan of fish sticks, but my cousin used to eat them all the time. When trying to get Parker to try new things and eat more fish as a toddler, I remembered my cousin eating fish sticks so I decided to give him some. He LOVED them! Parker has a pronunciation issue and calls them "sh!t d!cks". I died laughing when I first heard it. Anyway, for dinner last night I decided to make fish sticks for the kids (they don't like tortillas) and fish stick tacos for Kevin and me. Don't say "Eww!". Try it! It was super easy and yummy!

Taco ingredients:
fish sticks
tortillas
tomatoes, diced
red onion, diced
cilantro
shredded cheese
lime wedges

Directions:
1. Cook fish sticks according to instructions on box.
2. Once fish is done cooking, warm tortillas in microwave (cover with damp paper towel and nuke for ~1 min)
3. Pile fish sticks, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and cheese into tortilla and squeeze lime juice on top.

Kevin and I LOVE cilantro so I used almost half a bunch! I'm also a big tomato fan so I diced a whole tomato.

We had white rice and black beans too. We also love grilled fish, shrimp, and steak tacos, but those take a little longer and I wanted something super easy. Kevin and I def love us some tacos! We usually have it about once a week, but we haven't had it in a few weeks. I think it's gonna come back in the dinner rotation!

sorry for the bad pic...our dining room light gives my pics a yellow tint! 

Oh and in case you are wondering what that sauce is on my taco...it's the sauce from our favorite Cuban restaurant. For years Kevin tried to figure out how to make it and he finally figured it out a few months ago...or at least it tastes very similar. I'd give you the recipe, but I've never made it myself and Kevin doesn't measure anything either. I know it has mayo, mojo, lime juice, and cayenne pepper or hot sauce. I know it'll be hard to make not knowing how it tastes, but you should try. It totally makes the difference between a boring taco and a delicious taco. I've tried Google to find the recipe, but nothing! The consistency should be somewhat runny so alternate between adding more mayo or mojo if needed - Kevin and I do a few taste tests to get the right taste and those are the 2 things he usually adds. You should be able to taste the mayo, but it shouldn't be overwhelming. The lime juice is just a small wedge and the hot sauce or cayenne is however hot you want the sauce to be. Sorry I wasn't very helpful. Good luck! Let me know if it works out for you!