After a week of eating mostly vegetarian food, I ate quite a lot of meat over the weekend – mainly thanks to a Saturday night meal with friends at a restaurant dedicated to meat. Having said that, I didn’t really miss meat at all – it’s another conversation entirely if we discuss not having chocolate.

It’s also getting cold again, here in Honkers. We’ve had a couple of weeks of fairly warm weather (for January) and horrible pollution, so I wanted to make something that was a healthy take on comfort food.

I’ve always loved Tex Mex and Mexican cuisine – there’s just something about beautifully marinated meats and vegetables grilled and accompanied with cheese, avocado, sour cream and beans. Throw it all in a tortilla and you’re golden.

However, I wanted to look into options for lunch, something slightly more filling and nutritious than a cheese-packed tortilla wrap – which led me to the taco bowl idea. We see bowl versions of everything these days – smoothies, burritos, sushi, cakes (okay, the cakes are in mugs, but you get the idea). So, I’m sure that a taco bowl idea would work. You still get your delicious meat, veggies or seafood, along with beans and incredible seasoning. But rice instead of a tortilla just gives it that little bit more substance to feel fuller for longer.

That’s one of my biggest issues, not feeling full after a healthy meal, so I’m always looking for ways to bulk out a meal without over-doing it.

So, here is the recipe for fish taco bowls, filled with delicious goodness.

Ingredients

3 fillets cod, or other white fish
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoonds chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 cups corn
salt and pepper
2 cups rice, cooked
avocado (optional)
lime (optional)

1. Combine all of the spices in a bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste. Coat fish with the spice mix.
2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add the fish to the pan and allow to cook undisturbed for a few minutes before turning and cooking on the other side. Once cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add the pepper and onion. Allow to cook until soft (roughly 5 minutes). Add the corn and black beans and allow to heat through.
4. Serve rice in a bowl, with the vegetables, fish and pieces of avocado. Squeeze lime over the top if desired.

It’s getting late on a Sunday for me, at 9:45pm. What can I say? I’m an early riser.

Enjoy.