Rosie Makes Fish Tacos. More Espuma.

I love a good fish taco

and this one hit the spot.

The mahi mahi was free - the best kind!

I fried up a tortilla,

beer batter fried the mahi mahi,

whipped up a fresh salsa,

and used some of my basil foam.

Beer Batter

2 cups flour

1 cup cornstarch 

about 12 ounces beer

Enough to make a light pancake batter consistency.

1 tsp seasoning

I use freshly ground pepper and cayenne,

sometimes Creole seasoning,

sometimes Cajun seasoning,

sometimes hot paprika.

Mix all together and dredge the mahi mahi pieces,

shaking off the excess.

Heat oil to 350°.

Or thereabouts.

If you do any amount of frying

or if you're scared of frying,

get yourself one of these digital thermometers.

Makes it simple.

Takes all the guesswork out.

Plus you'll find yourself checking the temperature

of all sorts of things - the canal water, pool water,

a uvula, Mr. Hawthorne's butt cheeks (86°).
I'm sorry, was that too much information?

Drop fish in hot oil, one at a time.

Remember to never crowd the pan.

Crowding lowers the temperature

and results in soggy and greasy

instead of crisp and light.

Fry until golden brown.

About 3 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.

Tuck the mahi morsels into a fried taco.

Add a little fresh salsa

 from my salsa plant in the garden.

It grows next to my pesto.

Add shredded lettuce.

And spray on some basil foam!

For a little appetizer,

squirt a bed of basil foam in a Tostito

and top with salsa.

Foam is fun!

Rosie Makes A Basil Espuma.

 

 Rosie is still experimenting

and having fun with her new toy -
an iSi Gourmet Whip Plus.
It's a siphon-thingie with nitrous oxide cartridges.

Already, the Hawthornes have used our toy
to make an incredibly light batter
for fried onion rings, mushrooms, and green beans
and a bleu cheese foam dressing for an iceberg wedge salad.

Today, I'm making a basil espuma, or foam.

 I went out to the garden and picked a passel of basil.

Rinse well to remove any "proteins" 

that may be lurking in the leaves.

  I ended up with 7 ounces of leaves.

 First, blanch the basil.

 Bring water to a boil and pour in leaves.

 Let cook about 2 minutes.

 Drain and immediately put in an ice bath

to stop the cooking and set the pretty green color.

 I mixed 4 teaspoons of Knox gelatine in water 

until softened - about 5 minutes.

The recipe given to me called for gelatine sheets,
but I'm ready to do this now.
Don't have time to order on Amazon.

 I puréed the basil with about 3 ounces of water

in my Blue Ninja,

then poured it through a fine sieve.

 I ended up with a cup of green basil juice.

 My ingredients for basil espuma

1 cup heavy cream, tepid

dissolved gelatine

basil juice

Note to self:
Self, next time use SALT!

 Add the juice and gelatine to the cream.

 Pour through a fine sieve, chinois, or cheese cloth.

I poured this mixture into my siphon,

gave it two charges, then refrigerated it

for at least 4 hours.

Ended up needing a third cartridge for the foam.

 

 Oh goodness, there's nothing better

than a tomato just picked from your garden.

Slice and give it a few grinds of sea salt and pepper.

 Oh my, but this was good.
 

 Even Good Neighbor Bobby,

who doesn't like "strange" or "different"
or even basil,

liked this.

A lot.