Lettuce Cups Filled With Spicy Halibut

The other night we had friends over who were following a yeast free diet. Normally I don't invite such high maintenance types over. These two are quite fun, even without the yeast. I decided to take on the challenge. I made these delicious Lettuce Cups Filled With Spicy Halibut. It's a Cat Cora recipe, which usually means somewhat easy and extremely tasty. So if your faced with a guest with a special dietary need, make a decision. If they are fun, get creative and make something everyone will enjoy. If they are beat, make whatever you have planned on cooking and have them bring their own dinner in cute little Tupperware containers.

Halibut

• 2 Tb Olive Oil
• 2 Tb lime juice
• 1 ts chili power
• 1 ts ground cumin
• 1 ts cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 ts sea salt
• ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds Halibut Fillets (6 4 oz fillets)

1 Head of butter lettuce

Tomato Salad

• 5 Roma Tomatoes diced
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup Kalamata olives , pitted and halved
• 1 ts oregano
• 2 Tb chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 2 Tb lime juice
• salt and pepper

For the tomato salad, mix the tomatoes, olives, onions, oregano, parsley,olive oil and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.

Now on to the Halibut. Place Halibut in a baking dish, large enough so all the fillets can be placed in a single layer. In a separate bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice, chili power, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix well and pour all over the fillets, coating thoroughly with the marinade. Let the fillets sit for 20 minutes to absorb the flavors.

I used a non stick grill pan. If grilling outside, brush the fillets with olive oil so they don't stick to the grill. Cook the fillets till opaque about 6 minutes on each side. The halibut I used was quite thick, so it took a little bit longer to cook. It was also 20 dollars a pound, so if you find snapper or tuna a little cheaper they would also work well.

For the lettuce cups gently separate the leaves. If you want extra crunchy leaves, soak the leaves in cold water for a few minutes, pat dry.

Place a portion of grilled fish in a lettuce cup, top with a scoop of the tomato salad. Season with salt and pepper. These are very messy, but oh so delicious. My yeast free friends were not eating dairy the night they were over. Normally I would have drizzled Avocado Tzatziki on top. A slice of avocado would also be quite good.

Avocado Tzatziki

• 1 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1 ts fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 to 1 ts minced garlic
• 1/2 ts Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and grated cucumber
• 1 ripe avocado peeled and diced

Mix yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Add grated cucumber and diced avocado. Mix well. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving. Leftover Tzatziki? Delish on anything grilled.