With summer heat still upon us, I am SO in love with this relaxed, easy recipe from Cook This Book by Molly Baz. Fish, slow roasted in a low oven and served alongside citrusy, cool, crisp salad on a crunchy tostada or scooped up with tortilla chips? Count me in! This gives me huge beachside vibes of winter holidays in Mexico. Sitting under an umbrella, eating ceviche and sipping on a cold beer or pina coladas. I can’t say enough about the recipes in Molly Baz’s new cookbook Cook This Book. It’s quickly becoming my favorite new cookbook of the year. For my full thoughts on the book, see my previous post mixed berry crisp with cornflakes.
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A favorite recipe from Cook This Book. These fish tostadas are so good.
This recipe looks way more impressive than the amount of effort it takes to pull off. All you have to do is season some fish filets, throw them in a low oven and roast for 12-15 minutes. While that’s happening, you chop a bit of produce (cucumbers, avocado, a spicy chili if you want, grapefruit, red onion and some herbs). Toss it all in lime juice and salt. When the fish is done, plate the salad and flake the fish over everything! Spoon this on tostadas or just scoop it up with tortilla chips. So low effort.
This is the PERFECT meal for late summer. I love all the flavors and pops of citrus and herbs. I think I adore it so much because I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. For fish, I use frozen hake, cod, perch or any other white, flaky fish I have stocked in my freezer. Even salmon could work here. Individually frozen fish filets also take very little time to thaw out. I put them in a big bowl of lukewarm water and they’re usually ready to go in 10-15 minutes!
Substitutions are easy. No grapefruit? Use navel oranges. Instead of mint or cilantro, parsley, dill or basil could work. No tostada shells or chips? Use fresh tortillas or crackers or skip the carbs altogether and think of it as a salad. Instead of fish filets, shrimp, pan fried tofu, shredded jackfruit or beans would be perfect too! Use up that rotisserie chicken and chop it in here instead. There are lots of ways to riff on this easy recipe.
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Fish Tostadas with Cucumber and Grapefruit Salad
Ingredients
- 4 white, flaky fish filets such as cod, halibut, tilapia, perch or hake
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, for coating fish, plus extra for drizzling
- salt, for seasoning
- 3 limes
- 1 English cucumber
- ¼ small red onion
- 2 serrano or jalepeno peppers (optional)
- 1 grapefruit (preferably ruby red)
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 cups mint and/or cilantro leaves
- corn tostadas or tortillas, for serving
Method
- Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C), with a rack in the center of the oven. Place fish filets in oven safe skillet or baking dish. Grate or mince the garlic clove. Rub filets all over with garlic, salt and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat. Roast fish until it flakes easily with a fork. Anywhere from 12-20 minutes, depending on the thickness your fish.
- While the fish roasts, prep the salad. Squeeze 2 limes into a medium mixing bowl. Thinly slice the red onion. Add to the lime juice, along with ¼-½ teaspoon of salt. Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds or half moons. Thinly slice the serrano or jalepeno, if using. Add them to the bowl.
- Supreme (segment) the grapefruit. Slice off the top (stem end) and bottom of the grapefruit. Place a sliced, now flat end on the chopping board. Run your knife along the curved side of the grapefruit, removing the skin and white pith. Repeat until al the peel and pith are removed. Holding the peeled grapefruit in one hand, use your knife to cut each segment out, cutting along the membrane of each segment (see video for visual instructions). Add the segments to the bowl. Squeeze the remaining core of the grapefruit into the bowl to use the juice.
- When ready to eat, dice the avocado. Add avocado, the herbs and a drizzle of olive oil to the salad. Give the salad a very gentle toss, seasoning with more salt, if needed. Plate each serving of salad, adding flakes of fish filet on top. Serve immediately with tostadas or tortillas chips and extra wedges of lime.
This looks so easy and fresh! I love it!
It really is super easy! Thanks for visiting!
Love, love, love this recipe! I can’t wait to try it, especially since we have an avocado tree and are always looking of dishes to use them up in!
How wonderful to have your very own avocado tree! Happy cooking!
Such a delicious recipe. I love all the fresh flavors, and that it’s healthy to eat, especially during the summer months when you don’t always want to eat a very heavy meal. I will definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad to hear you made this and enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving the feedback!