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 Ahi Taco Dinner |
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Looking for a dinner to have on a warm summer evening? Try these tacos, they are light with a bit of fruit and good spiciness. Paired with an off dry Riesling that has ripe fruit characteristics and good acid is the perfect dinner on a hot day when heavy foods just won't do. The meal takes about an hour to prepare, but the chutney should be made ahead of time and left to firm in the refrigerator at least a couple of hours, preferably overnight. This gives the flavors time to fully develop as well as giving it the correct consistency. This chutney is a good mix of sweet and spicy, so it really needs an off-dry, fairly high acid wine to carry it off, which leads you to Riesling. Try this nice one from Madrona Vineyards in El Dorado County, but buy it quickly after bottling, this is a wine that sells out fairly quickly. If you can't find it look for a Riesling with about 1.5 to 2 % residual sugar. |
| Foods: | Paired Wine: |
| Main Course: Ahi Tacos with mango chutney- The Ahi gives this a little stronger flavor and body than most fish tacos and is a little more forgiving than a light white fish when cooking. Side: Spanish Rice - A slight variation on the old standby, this is easy to make and goes great with any Spanish or Mexican main course. Side: Black Beans - This is a quick version of the beans you might find in a Mexican restaurant, but using canned beans to save a great deal of time and butter instead of lard for a bit of flavor. |
Wine: 2005 Madrona Riesling, El Dorado AVA, Camino, California: A wine with great, lively acidity that is nicely matched with just a bit of residual sugar to add body and a slight impression of sweetness. The nose gives you ripe citrus and honeysuckle, like oranges and tangerines. But it doesn't stop there, it moves on to a little light peaches and then apples and pears. These scents follow through to the palate with the addition of honey. This is a wonderfully complex wine with a long lingering finish of all that great fruit. It went beautifully with the fruit in the chutney, but with enough acid to stand up to the spice of the tacos and fat in the beans. |
This meal requires only a limited amount of cooking, but a bit of planning to have it all finish at about the same time. Cutting the ingredients takes the most time, but you can find most of this pre chopped, even the mango, if you search for it. Substitute a light white fish, like cod or halibut, but it would be better grilled than barbequed and shorten the cooking time based on thickness of the fish. Make the Chutney at least 2 hours before, preferably the day before and let it rest in the refrigerator. Chop the ingredients before beginning the cooking so you can concentrate on the cooking. Start the barbeque warming, then start the rice. When the rice is covered and cooking, place the Ahi on the grill. When the Ahi is finished and resting in aluminum foil, start the beans and shells. Continue to Recipe
