Sandwiches and Salads

like i said, i’m a glutton for summertime produce. boone and i counted that we’d had twenty two (22!) BLTs or plain tomato sandwiches over the past ten days.that’s at least ONE a day. there was one point where we broke out in tomato hives and itched for a few hours, but it was all worth it since tomato season only comes once a year.

the new Delta Magazine had a fantastic article about the best BLTs in the Delta and almost all of them had something extra like fried green tomatoes or catfish added. now, no doubt those are all delicious but my favorite BLT is as basic as it gets and comes right from my own kitchen. read on.

The Classic BLT
Weight Watchers Points: 9
Serving Size:2

What you need:
4 slices of white bread
5 slices of thick cut bacon
hellman’s REAL mayonnaise (don’t you DARE substitute this)
2 ripe, locally grown tomatoes
salt, pepper
green bib lettuce

What to do:
Toast the bread (we don’t have a toaster, so we just use the oven on broil) and while it’s toasting, make the bacon. I use the microwave and cover the bacon with a paper towel and cook on high for 3 minutes. My mom uses a skillet…

Cut tomatoes into thick slices. Once the bread comes out of the oven, spread the mayonnaise over both sides of the bread, layer the tomato slices, bacon, and lettuce and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you’re feeling fancy, use an avocado for a little extra creaminess…totally unnecessary, but it sure does something great with the acidity of the tomato and the salt. delicious.

i’m going to plant some tomatoes in august just so i don’t have to wait until next july for another sandwich as good as this one.

Catfish Tacos with Purple Cabbage Slaw
Serves 2.5, Weight watchers points: 4 per taco + 1 for the slaw

You haven’t heard from me in weeks…first of all, things have been craaaa–zeeee since about mid-march, and secondly, because I joined weight watchers and needed an adjustment period to figure out what was friendly to weight loss and what…isn’t. turns out that most southern food is on the no-nos list…but together we’ll sort things out and figure our delicious ways to eat the foods we love with fewer calories, less fat, and just as much flavor!

Which brings me to tonight’s post…Catfish tacos. I’ve heard from lots of people who didn’t grow up eating catfish (read: folks not from MS) that the slightly earthy taste isn’t super appealing to them…but honestly, if you like trout, then farm raised catfish should be right up your alley. no..you don’t get to take exotic mountain vacations to go fishing for catfish, BUT it’s a southern-raised, eco-friendly fish option that when cooked well has an incredible freshness and firm but flaky texture. as a mississippi girl, catfish is my go-to freshwater fish.

If you’re still not sold, then this recipe is the PERFECT way to experiment. Wrapping up the fish in a tortillia with avacado, tomatoes, and cilantro means that you get some of the lovely earthy fish flavor, but it will be balanced out by the extras. 😉

What you Need:
For the Tacos:
4 catfish fillets
2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning (tony chachere’s is my personal favorite)
1 tsp cumin
6 small flour tortillas
1/2 bunch of cilantro
10 cherry tomatoes
1 ripe avocado

For the slaw:
1/2 purple cabbage
3 tablespoons greek yogurt
1 red onion
juice of 1 lime
table salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 jalepeno

What to do:

For the slaw:

Start with the slaw since this takes a few minutes to sit and soak up flavor. shred the cabbage, slice your onion into thin, thin rings, and chop the jalepeno into tiny pieces. Combine that into a bowl and salt it so it begins to wilt. In another bowl, stir the greek yogurt, lime juice, and chili powder, and pour it over the cabbage mixture. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

For the tacos:

at this point, it’s time for the catfish..it cooks quickly so this should be last! make sure you ahve Mississippi farm raised catfish. Put it in a dish and dust it with the cajun seasoning and the cumin and let sit for a few minutes.

coat a skillet with cooking spray and put the fish in the pan. Let it cook for 4 minutes on each side (or until the fish is firm and no longer sticks to the pan). Once that’s done, set the fish aside.

either before or as the catfish is cooking, chop your taco toppings… of course you can use other ingredients than these, but these are fresh and light.

once the fish is ready, make your tacos! you can use the slaw as a topping or as a side… either way, it’s delicious and so pretty.

If you’re a catfish lover, then you can forgo the tortillas altogether and just serve this with the slaw and all the fixins’. I hope you love this spring recipe as much as I do!

the blt.

Catfish tacos with purple cabbage slaw.

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