Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Grilled Tomatillo Avocado Salsa

California Avocados
The avocado photo on the top of Liv Life is a sure hint to our love of the creamy, green fruit.  Imagine my jubilation as I answered a morning doorbell to find a deliveryman handing over a box of California Avocados sent to me from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and the California Avocado Commission.  Eagerly popping the tape on the sides of the box I found 5 gorgeous avocados nearly ready for the eating.  Packed alongside my precious bounty the kind people at the CAC included a couple of fridge magnets and a handy avocado scooper that I've used no less than 10 times since my beloved box arrived.

While most of us have enjoyed guacamole, tossing the nutrient dense fruits into salads is one of my all time favorite uses.  Or how about a few avocado slices layered on top of your pizza?  Try it, it's addicting!  Avocado works equally as well with enchiladas, tacos, casseroles, omelettes, soups, stews, chilis... you name it.  Truly, the options are endless as the versatile fruit enhances so many meals.  

Filled with Monounsaturated fats, Vitamins K, C, B6 and E, Folate,  Potassium, Magnesium and Lutein, avocados provide a veritable power house of nutrients.  Higher in fat, we do need to remember the word "moderation", however these "good fats" worked as a butter replacement in Lisa - Korean American Mommy's, tempting Avocado Coconut Lime Bundt Cake.

Once a luxury food served only on the tables of royalty, I'm now lucky to live in the Avocado Capital of the US.  San Diego county grows 60% of the avocados grown in CA where a single avocado tree averages about 60 pounds, or 150 avocados per year.  Luckily the 6,000 avocado growers in the state have the fruit growing year round helping to provide much of those 13 million pounds that are required to fulfill the avocado consumption on Super Bowl Sunday alone.

Inspired with my new box of avocados I took an informal poll of neighbors and fiends as to what first came to mind when thinking of the avocado.  The overwhelming answer was the good ole guacamole.  However, with a bag of fresh tomatillos sitting on my counter and plans for a Tomatillo Salsa Verde already in the works I set out to do the verde with avocado.


Preferring my salsa "roasted" the tomatillos and jalapeños earned a quick trip to the grill.  When done and cooled I processed them with a bit of onion and cilantro fresh from the farmer's market and then squeezed a touch of lime from our tree.  Dicing the avocado, adding a bit of salt and giving the salsa a quick stir, the project was complete.  Working wonderfully with a simple bowl of chips we were already thrilled with our creation, but topping a fillet of grilled mahi mahi with the zesty salsa we knew we had a real treat.  Check below for our recipe for Tomatillo Avocado Salsa and Grilled Mahi Mahi. 

For more of Liv Life's California Avocado recipe ideas check out:
Chicken Tortilla Soup

Egg White Omelette with Spinach and Avocado
Grilled Veggie Quesadillas
Mexican Chicken Casserole
Zesty Black Bean Soup
Quick Corn Chowder
A hearty thank you goes out to Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program and the California Avocado Comission for thinking of us!  We truly enjoyed each and every slice of the avocados we received and have a Mango Avocado Salsa and Black Bean, Corn and Avocado Relish recipes coming soon.



Grilled Mahi Mahi with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Avocado

Mahi Mahi fillets
Salt and Pepper

Salsa: 
6 medium tomatillos, husked and scrubbed
1 jalapeño pepper
1/4 cup diced onion
1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, stems removed
2-4 Tbs lime juice, start with two Tbs and add more as desired
1-2 large avocados, diced
salt to taste

Preheat grill to medium high heat.  Add the tomatillos and peppers directly to the grill grates and grill until the tomatillos are soft and the peppers are tender and slightly charred.  Remove from grill and cool.  When cool add the tomatillos, chopped jalapeño, diced onion and chopped cilantro into a blender or food processor and whiz for a few seconds until you have your desired consistency (I prefer mine a bit chunky).  Pour into a bowl and add the lime juice, avocados and salt to taste.  Chill.

Oil fish.  Season lightly with salt and pepper (lemon pepper works well).  Place on grill, turning once.  Grill a few minutes each side (depending on thickness of fish) and remove from grill when the fish flakes.

Place on a plate, topped with the Roasted Tomatillo Avocado Salsa and serve.  Cilantro Lime Corn Salad works well as a side dish for this one!

29 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful! Great recipe!

    Thanks,
    Christine
    christinespantry.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds absolutely delicious! I love all these flavors, so I am going to have to give this a try. I too love living in SoCal with avacados right at our fingertips! I am going to have to try putting them on pizza, that sounds fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! Mahi is my favorite fish, and I love the idea of a GRILLED tomatillo salsa -- especially the avocado part. Great recipe! Very summery.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I bet the flavor is wonderful, gorgeous color.

    ReplyDelete
  5. this is right my alley! I love a fresh salsa on fish! WONDERFUL! and your other recipes look delcious as well!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Once again, great pics and a great recipe! I wish I were so lucky as to find five avocados on my doorstep!

    ReplyDelete
  7. They knew the right doorstep to drop those onto didn't they! You having me wishing I had some, so I could have this tonight. My favorite way to have them is an avocado smoothie, yum.
    -Gina-

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Kim! What a nice collection of recipes with avocado! I just bookmarked corn and chicken chowder. Looks delicious and my kids would love this one. Mahi Mahi with Salsa looks delicious, too. Foodbuzz sent to the right person to utilize avocados!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, my...every one of your avocado recipes looks sublime! Brava!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your avocado recipes do look delicious. I love all the different ways you use avocados but I have to admit that my favorite is just slicing it, adding a little salt and enjoying its creamy goodness.

    I can't wait to see the Black Bean, Corn and Avocado relish.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Kelly - great recipe! So California! We are fans of mahi mahi too, will be posting grilled mahi mahi in a couple days. Can't wait to try your salsa next time.
    LL

    ReplyDelete
  12. All of your recipe look amazing! I've never had Mahi-Mahi. Sad, but true. It's not a fish you see often here in NY. Love the salsa! I just bought tomatilos for my garden - so I see lots in my future.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love love avocado! I will definitely be trying some of those yummy recipes! :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. what a awesome dishes..I love them all! Must say I never tried using avocado in many but this is wonderful! Thanks for sharing all those delicious recipes!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love, love, love avocados and your salsa recipe looks delicious. One of my favorite simple breakfasts is avocado toast...Drizzle olive oil on toast, and top w/ sliced avocados and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I, too, love avocados! And that mahi mahi, oh my my my... This meal is right up my alley!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks delicious. I'm in avocado mode to right now making dips. You're right avocado and mahi mahi are a wonderful match.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kim,
    Such great avocado recipes! We have guacamole, chips, and margaritas most Friday night that we are home. We have made Salsa Verde, but never added the avocado. You gave me so many ideas for the avocado.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Avocado is something that I have just became familiar with in the past few years. The first thing I always want to make with it is a wrap with turkey and tomato. While that is always good I am glad to see how versatile it actually is. Thanks for sharing all of the delicious recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Another fabulous post Kim! I don't know which recipe to try first, they all look and sound wonderful! I don't think I have ever thought to put avocado on my pizza, sounds strange, but if you say so, it must be good!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm trying really hard lately to like avocado. I really want to like it! But tomatillos...that's a different story! I love those bad boys! Since I really WANT to like avocado I think this is probably the perfect pairing. Thanks for sharing!

    PS. I signed my daughter up for dancing classes for the summer. They were running a special that she can take as many classes in her age group for one price. Neither one of us can wait for her to get started!! Thank you to you and Liv for being the final push and inspiration to get my girl started. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. yum! corn chowder with chunks of avocado! I've never tried it but I want to now!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mahi mahi may just be my favorite fish. It is so versatile and easy to work with. I love that you have elevated it even further with the addition of tomatillos and avocados. Broke da mouth as they say here!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oooh wow! You guys sure do love your avocados - and for good reason! This mahi mahi sounds absolutely wonderful and wouldn't be complete with that beautiful tomatillo and avocado salsa =)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow those 'cados look tasty. The salsa idea is a really good one. I'll have fun playing with that idea this summer for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Nice ways to enjoy avocados! We ship avocado gift boxes and monthly subscriptions direct from our farm to your fork...so we shared your post on our FB page. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love avocado's! I could eat them every day, and never get tired of them. I love all the things you have put them on. This sauce with the tomatillo's sounds awesome. I have a similar recipe I am going to try soon!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love the avocado montage! We start eating it quite a bit this time of year in New England.

    Jason

    ReplyDelete
  29. oh all the avocado! This looks absolutely refreshing.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make our hearts sing!