Climb Ev'ry Mountain (At Least the Easy Ones)

I love Anchorage in the summer, last post's weather gripes aside.

We had fabulous friends over for dinner on Friday (there was an ill-fated clafoutis incident that I won't bother you with here), dinner with a friend of my parents on Saturday, and then walked past a street fair to meet some other friends later that night.  On nice days in Anchorage, you run into everyone downtown--forget six degrees of separation, it's more like two.

Yesterday David and I went hiking at Falls Creek Trail, which is a very steep uphill trail through trees to a valley at the end.  The state's website says the difficulty is "moderate," which may be true if you're a mountain goat or a Dall sheep.  My pedometer said that the uphill was the equivalent of going up 141 flights of stairs, if that can be believed, and my legs are a little on the sore side today.



A view of Turnagain Arm from
further up the trail.



By the time we rolled off the mountain dirty and sweaty, I didn't want to do anything too complicated for dinner.  Halibut tacos are one of the great Alaskan summer dishes--you can find them on menus around the state while the halibut is fresh, and while some restaurants are stupid enough to deep-fry halibut chunks for the tacos, this broiled version is much tastier and healthier.

I sauteed a small red spring onion and half a jalapeno and mixed them with a can of black beans for a side.  Green tomatillo salsa is a perfect complement to the tacos.

Halibut Tacos

Adapted from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis

1 lb. halibut steak or fillet

2 small peperoncino peppers, crushed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

Extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 head green cabbage, thinly shredded

1 lime, juiced

Small corn or flour tortillas

Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper

For serving:

Guacamole

Black beans

Lowfat plain yogurt or sour cream

Salsa

Pat the fish dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.  Preheat the broiler or, if it's a nice day, prepare your grill and cook the fish outside.

Combine the garlic, peppers and dried oregano in a ramekin, then spread on one side of the fish.  Drizzle the fish with olive oil on the same side.  If you have time to marinate the fish for an hour or so, cover it and put it in the fridge.  You'll want to let it come back up to room temperature before cooking.

In a small bowl, toss the shredded cabbage with a little salt, then add the lime juice and toss again.  Set it aside while you're cooking the fish.

Place the fish on a baking sheet and broil on high for about three minutes on each side.  The fish will be done when it flakes into large chunks and is opaque inside. 

Serve with warmed tortillas and garnish with the shredded cabbage and other fixings.

Serves 2 with leftovers.