Grill fish in a basket.

Looking for a new way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo or merely enjoy grilled fish? Then check out this easy, yet low-calorie dish from celebrated grill master Steven Raichlen, who will be in San Antonio on May 24 for a fund-raiser benefiting KLRN. (Click here for details.)

“You may not find this dish in traditional Mexican cookbooks,” Raichlen writes in “High-Flavor, Low-Fat Mexican Cooking,” “but the flavors of the simply grilled fish served with a silken salsa of avocado, chiles and fried garlic are as ancient as the country itself. I’ve called for snapper here, but you can really use any fish. For ease in turning the fish on the grill, cook it in a wire fish basket.”

Grilled Snapper with Avocado Sauce

4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless snapper fillets
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice

For the salsa:
1 poblano chile
1 jalapeño
1/2 medium white onion, cut in half
5 cloves garlic (2 cloves peeled, 3 cloves peeled and thinly sliced), divided use
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small or 1/2 large avocado, peeled and seeded
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup no-fat sour cream
1/2 cup water, fish broth or bottled clam juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste

Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and sprinkle with garlic. Arrange the fillets in a baking dish and pour the orange and grapefruit juices over them. Marinate for 1 hour, turning once or twice.

Meanwhile, prepare the salsa. Heat a comal or cast-iron skillet over a medium-high heat. Roast the chiles, onion and the 2 peeled garlic cloves until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes for the poblano and onion, 4 to 6 minutes for the jalapeño and the garlic. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Seed the chiles.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Fry the sliced garlic until it is lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let it burn. Drain the fried garlic in a strainer.

Place the roasted chiles, onion and garlic in a blender with the avocado, chopped cilantro, cumin, sour cream, water or fish broth, and lime juice. Purée until smooth, adding water as needed to obtain a thick but pourable sauce. Correct the seasoning, adding salt, pepper and lime juice to taste. Add the fried garlic and pulse the blender just to mix.

Preheat the grill to high. Place the fish in a fish basket sprayed with cooking spray oil. Grill the fish until it’s cooked to taste, about 4 minutes per side. Arrange the fish fillets on places or a platter and pour the salsa over them. Garnish with cilantro sprig and serve at once.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional analysis: 290 calories per serving, 36 g protein, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 9 g carbohydrate, 118 mg sodium, 62 mg cholesterol.

From “High-Flavor, Low-Fat Mexican Cooking” by Steven Raichlen

Where to have lunch? The car knew the moment it turned onto Broadway: Beto’s Comida Latina.

The fish tacos, the empanadas, the quesadillas – all seemed to be calling me. So, a friend and I turned into the parking lot and turned on to the best meal I have had there in ages.

I have always enjoyed going to Beto’s. The casual atmosphere of the dining room, a few longnecks and the patio out back (too hot for our current heat, but great in the fall), the Latin fare that goes beyond Tex-Mex to embrace Central and South American cuisines. But my last couple of visits were average, nothing to get worked up about.

I’m glad to see that has changed. Most everything we had at that lunch was marked by a welcome vibrancy, from the fresh ingredients to the steaming hot nature of the food itself, that was nearly irresistible.

The fish tacos were the special that day, with a pair and a salad arriving for $5.99. Don’t pass this by if you can. Our version flirted with perfection. The cilantro coleslaw on top was fresh and crunchy, the poblano sauce creamy with just the right amount of bite, and the grilled fish juicy and plentiful. There was a slight bit of water coming from the tacos, but it didn’t affect the flavor.

It also didn’t affect the hold that great fish tacos have. For some reason, this dish has never caught on in San Antonio as well as it should. So, we should be extra thankful that Beto’s, among other places, has cultivated a devoted following for them. For those of us who love them, their hold is as gripping as the latest John Lescroart or Michael Connelly mystery.

The accompanying salad was topped with pickled red onions and slices of jícama, which added two contrasting yet complementary textures to the crisp romaine.

A spinach and mushroom quesadilla bore no trace of the promised chipotle, and it didn’t really need it. Who needs more when you have soft spinach leaves and mushrooms melting into one with the corn tortilla thanks to a judicious amount of cheese.

A sauté of fresh vegetables, ranging from squashes and tomatoes to eggplant and sweet potato, with a sprinkling of queso fresco on top, made a substantial side dish and a nice balance to the carbohydrates from the tortillas. (Beto’s, ever attentive to people’s dietary needs, offers low-carb options as well as gluten-free dishes. Ask your server.)

But you can’t go low-carb and enjoy Beto’s signature dish, its flaky empanadas, made with puff pastry. From a choice list of savory fillings, including chicken poblano and beef and red chile, the calabacita con puerco called, and it proved an excellent choice with its stew of squash and pork with a touch of sweet corn.

I heeded the call once again when the waiter mentioned mango-rhubarb among the dessert options. The luscious sweet-tart nature of the fruit a good foil for the buttery pastry.

Give in to such calls every once in a while. You could be as amply rewarded as we were at Beto’s.

Close

Beto’s Comida Latina
8142 Broadway
(210) 930-9393
Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday
$-$$

Fishemen, how do you cook your catch?

You prepare carefully, so we want to learn from your example!

To all the hikers, kayakers, hunters, campers, mountain bikers, picnic-maniacs, fishermen, bow hunters, clam diggers, spear-fishers, divers, boaters, and things I don’t even know, what’s your recipe?

There must be more to dove recipes than adding a slice of jalapeño and wrapping it in bacon. Though that is pretty tasty, someone must still be using the whole dove, maybe deep-frying, maybe stuffing. Then you think of the possibilities from turkey hunters and the mind reels!
Those of you that are more athletic than I and take a day walk through Government Canyon, what do you pack for lunch? I want to hear about your trail mix, your special sandwiches, pasta salad, dates and jerky pitas, which give you the go-juice to make it back to the car. You boaters that just like to cruise on the water have to eat sometime, what is your “only when I’m boating” meal plan? People in the kayaks and tubes, what’s on the menu?

If I rode a bike over hill and dale — I’d need an emergency room. But those of you that enjoy cross-country biking need sustenance; what do you like/make/devise to keep those wheels rolling? Speaking of wheels rolling, campers, truckers in the super rigs, and fifth-wheelers, what are your culinary tricks on the road?

I could tell you a fish story, but most fishermen have already heard it. Yet I haven’t heard your favorite way to cook smaller fish, big fish (that didn’t get away), crabs, clams, shrimp, octopus, and the giant kraken. Heck, tell me how you clean one.

Hunters bag the game and then get it home — how? To prepare it — how? Do you make javalina sausage? What is the best way to produce venison jerky, dove/quail/duck/turkey/Texas turducken, and rabbit stew/chili/tacos?

Even those of you that bag most of your fare at H-E-B, what do you make for a picnic or backyard party?

Send me your tried and true recipes and we will give you credit for your hard work slaving over a campfire. E-mail cecil@savorsa.com, subject “wild fare.” I’m hungry!