Raid the Fridge Fridays: Seabass tacos with red cabbage slaw

A few months after moving and adjusting to Toulouse, finding friends needed to be the first thing on my to-do list. I therefore found some Facebook groups, you know the type - ‘Expat Ladies in Toulouse’ etc, and enthusiastically commented on posts left, right and centre. Someone looking for an English teacher - check. Someone offering French classes - check. Someone suggesting painting lessons WHERE THERE WOULD ALSO BE WINE - double check.

Along I nervously went to my first class (still wearing a mask back in those days, so all I could go on was good eye-contact) and ended up painting a lopsided plane and met one of my now-closest friends in France. Evidently her eye contact was on point.

I’m the utterly delighted one

Now I have a collection of paintings propped on the TV stand (and some friends, thank god, although they’re not on the TV stand) as even though the impetus for those boozy painting classes has less momentum less days, I still continue to attend. Our teacher Monica can prise an artist out of anyone who can hold a paint brush, and I find myself immersed in the projects - whether it’s wonky aeroplanes or flamingos or Frida Kahlo - the outside world falls away and all that matters is that I draw a smooth line with this black paint and I don’t completely ruin hours of intense work. I find these classes to be very good for me, especially as I can’t go long without a bombardment of meaningless entertainment these days. God forbid I’m ever left alone to think. Three hours with a painting to copy and a blank canvas is as good as meditation in my opinion.

You can sense the intensity

Two of these paintings became a backdrop for these seabass tacos, today’s Raid the Fridge Friday recipe. Out of the five or six classes I’ve attended, Mexico and it’s bright vivid colours have twice been our themes, so these paintings seemed fitting additions to these photographs.

Ever since I visited and ate my way around Mexico a few years ago, its cuisine is often top of my list when it comes to meal planning. Not only are the dishes so flavourful, alight with chilli and lime and cumin, but I love that pick ‘n’ mix style of eating - the table covered in bowls full of guacamole, crunchy red cabbage slaw, a pot of yoghurt, a little bit of homemade mayonnaise leftover from last week’s prawn cocktail to which I’ve added lime and coriander, and of course the fish - chunks of seabass, juicy and tender, tossed in a spice mix of oregano, paprika, cumin, a pinch of cayenne and turmeric. Each bite of taco - to be honest, it’s really a fajita, and an overfilled one at that - is full of contrasting textures, yet it’s fresh and light, the sauces creamy, yet there is a little necessary heat from the fish, and before I know it, I’m making another taco.

Raid the Fridge Fridays: Jewelled winter salad

Whatever filling you add is up to you - the beauty is that they can be personalised. I love to add crunchy salad made with red cabbage and fennel - last week’s recipe in fact, maybe without the attention-seeking dressing - lettuce, coriander and I seem to have a thing for pomegranate seeds at the moment.

Finally the fish. Buy good-quality white fish, chop it up into bite-sized pieces, mix together the spices and toss the fish around in it until completely coated. Fry or grill the pieces for 5 minutes - and before you know it lunch is ready.

We don’t need paintings of Mexico as an excuse to eat seabass tacos, but such a meal of sharing plates and toppings couldn’t be a better way to spend time with the friends I made thanks to those painting classes.

Seabass tacos

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 5 mins

Course: Snack, Lunch, Dinner, Main Course

Keyword: seabass, white fish, spices, cumin, paprika, cayenne

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 150g seabass or other white fish

• 1 tsp cumin

• ½ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp dried oregano

• ¼ tsp turmeric

• 1⁄8 tsp cinnamon

• A pinch of cayenne pepper

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Olive oil

• Tortillas and lime wedges

Topping ideas:

• Red cabbage slaw

• Quick guacamole

• Mayonnaise flavoured with some lime juice and chopped coriander

• Yoghurt

• Coriander

• Lettuce

• Pomegranate seeds

• Cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Chop the fish into bite-sized pieces.

• Measure all the spices for the fish into a large bowl and add salt and pepper.

• Tip the fish into the bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Use your (clean) hands to cover the fish in all the spices.

• Preheat a frying pan on high or turn the grill on to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F and put the fish in an ovenproof dish.

• Once the frying pan or grill is hot, add the fish - it will sizzle on impact.

• As the fish cooks it will release some water, but keep the heat high as you want the water to evaporate, and the meat will firm and become opaque. Once cooked through, the flesh will come away in discernible flakes.

• Serve on tortillas with lime wedges and any of your favourite fillings.