Fish tacos simple and delicious

For years, my husband and I have shared a love of biking and hiking, but I’m only now trying to get into another one of his favorite hobbies, fishing.

I say “trying” because even after countless attempts, I can’t bring myself to bait a hook with a night crawler — so gross! And when I’m lucky enough to actually catch something, I can’t muster the courage to take the fish off the hook.

My husband isn’t so squeamish, even when it comes to cleaning and eating whatever he catches. On a recent weekend, that included a 16-inch black drum he landed with one of those wriggling earthworms in a creek on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The five tiny croakers I reeled in and our daughter Olivia patiently released back into the water paled in comparison.

While I applaud his sense of adventure, I prefer my fish from the fish market or grocery store seafood department, already skinned and filleted and ready to be baked, grilled or fried in a favorite recipe like tacos. In my opinion, you can never go wrong tucking chunks of fried white fish into a warm corn or flour tortilla and then piling on fresh, homemade salsa and some sort of spicy sauce.

Tilapia, a mild-tasting, easy-to-find freshwater fish with a flaky texture, has the lead in this simple taco recipe adapted from Cook’s Country magazine. Seasoned with Mexican spices, the fish is fried until it’s golden brown, and then topped with crunchy, fresh corn salsa studded with jalapeño.

An easy sauce made with Mexican crema and smoky minced chipotle pepper in adobo gets drizzled on top.

I was lucky to find the last fresh ears of corn of the summer at a local farm stand, but you can easily substitute frozen kernels. For extra crunch and heft, top the tacos with shredded cabbage.

For a complete meal, I served the tacos with Mexican red beans and rice.

Fish Tacos With Corn Salsa

Serves 4. adapted from cookscountry.com

4 6-ounce white fish filets, such as cod, flounder or tilapia

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 cup Mexican crema

2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo, divided

11/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 6-inch flour or corn tortillas, warmed

Finely shredded cabbage, for serving, optional

Fresh cilantro, for serving, optional

Sprinkle fish with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and let sit for 15 minutes.

In small bowl, mix crema, 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in sauce and a generous pinch of salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook corn, vinegar, jalapeno, sugar and a generous pinch of salt, stirring every once in a while, until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cut fish into equal-sized chunks and toss with cumin and remaining 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers until well combined.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until almost smoking. Add fish to skillet and cook, stirring and flipping occasionally, until golden brown all over, about 4 minutes. (Thickest pieces of fish should register 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.)

Drain corn salsa. Divide fish, crema and corn mixture over 8 warmed tortillas, top with shredded cabbage and cilantro, and serve.