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broiled fish with avocado salsa
Serve this with plenty of warm fresh tortillas to scoop up the fish and salsa and sop up any of the juices. I also like to set the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce, though the fish and salsa are also tasty just on their own.

½ lb of whatever firm white fish fillets you can get at your local fishmonger
salt and pepper

marinade
1 fat garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
juice from ½ a lime

salsa
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
3 ripe plum tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
¼ onion, minced
1 fat clove garlic, minced
1 stalk scallion, root end discarded and remainder minced
chopped cilantro to taste (I add just a teaspoon or so; big cilantro fans can go heavier on this)
1 jalapeno, de-seeded, de-ribbed and minced
juice from half a big juicy lime
salt

time 20 minutes
serves 2

1 Preheat the broiler with the rack as close to the broiler as you can get it (and still slide in the baking pan, of course).
2 Meanwhile, combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and give it a good stir. Place the fish in a baking pan or dish, and brush both sides with a generous amount of the garlic-lime-oil mixture. Give the fish a good sprinkle of salt and pepper and set it aside.
3 Slice the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. Chop up the flesh. Mince the garlic, onions, scallions and cilantro. Toss all these ingredients into a bowl. Put on a pair of rubber gloves, and slice off the stem end of the chile pepper. Slice the chile in half, then use a paring knife to scrape out the seeds and trim away the white ribs. Mince up the chile pepper, and add half to the tomato mixture. (Save the rest; you can use it to add more heat at the end.) Halve the avocado, remove the peel and pit, and chop up the meat. Toss the avocado bits into the bowl.
4 Juice half a lime and pour into the tomato-avocado mixture; stir the ingredients (gently, so as not to mash up the avocado) until well combined. Add a good amount of salt, to taste, plus more chile if you like.
5 At this point, your broiler should be fiery hot. Slide the fish into the oven, and broil until the fish is opaque and the edges just begin to flake easily. For a thinnish fillet (well under 1"), this might take as little as 5-6 minutes; check by inserting a knife into the thickest part of the fish; you want just the tiniest speck of translucency still in the center (the fish will continue to cook to perfection as you bring it to the table).
6 Transfer the fish to a plate and add a generous topping of salsa; serve any extra salsa on the side. Enjoy!

o

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