As I’ve written elsewhere, it’s not simply the cooking that I love; it’s the whole ritual of sharing food with family and friends.  Over the years, many families – society in general – seems to have lost this simple, embracing pleasure.

One of the interesting things about sharing food is that, as a cook, you never really know how people will respond.  A dish you may absolutely love to prepare – and enjoy eating – may be a surprising failure! And something quite ordinary might rocket to the top of the hit parade.

We’ve always loved Halibut Tostaditas and I often make them as a snack or appetizer when we’re anchored at the islands.  If we’re not catching halibut, I’ll use yellowtail or salmon instead. But when I make this dish with freshly caught halibut, everyone goes crazy for it and I’ve realized that one of its secrets is quite mundane – the chips! They’re very easy to make, much more appreciated than store-bought and a delight to share.

In the picture above I used halibut, salmon and tuna

You’ll need:
6 corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges (or into circles using a cookie cutter)
Corn or canola oil for frying
Salt
½ teaspoon finely chopped canned chipotles with ½ teaspoon of the adobe sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon tequila
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 pound fresh halibut, cut into small cubes
1 avocado, cut into small cubes
3 green onions, thinly sliced

What you do:
Deep -fry the tortilla chips until light brown, drain on paper towels, salt and set aside.

Whisk chipotle, adobe sauce, olive oil, lime juice, tequila, cumin and sugar in a bowl. Gently mix the fish, avocado and 2/3 of the green onions, trying not to break up the avocado.

Spoon the fish mixture onto the tortillas. Top with remaining green onions.

John’s Wine Pairing:
We opened an Italian Prosecco for this dish and it was great. A Spanish Albarino would work as well.