Asian-Infused Fish Tacos - or Salad

There are a TON of different elements and depths to this meal - some sweet, some hot, a little Asian, a tad Spanish. Thrown together, it made an insane dinner that gave us both food comas from eating so much.
The definite star of the show tonight was the caramelized cabbage. I don't remember where I saw it, but in one of my typical rabbit-trail, blind stumbling through the interwebs recently, I remembered seeing a picture of roasted cabbage, and it inspired me to change up the standard fish tacos I usually make. Cabbage is really good right now; jicama and carrots are inexpensive; and avocados have been on sale, so this is a good go-to winter dinner. Roasting the cabbage gave it an unusual sweetness that really offset the heat of the cayenne and onions.

Olive oil
1/3 head green cabbage, sliced 1/2" thick through the middle with core intact
4 small cod fillets

"Slaw":
1 large shallot, very thinly sliced, divided (could also use yellow onion)
1/3 medium jicama, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
3 tomatillos, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced (seeds removed for less heat) - divided
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

Juice of 2 limes
2 T soy sauce, divided
2 T rice vinegar, divided
1 T black sesame oil
1 t garlic powder
1 t cayenne powder (or to taste)
1 t chili powder (or to taste)
1/4 c Hain canola mayonnaise
S&P

1 large avocado, sliced
Corn tortillas (omit for whole30, paleo, or low carb)

Marinate cod in advance with some of the shallot rings, 1 T of the soy sauce, 1 T of the rice vinegar, the juice of 1 of the limes, 1 t of the jalapeno, and a little S&P. Leave in fridge til ready to bake.
In the meantime, preheat oven to 425. Toss the jicama, carrot, tomatillos, rest of the jalapeno, shallot, cilantro, and the rest of the lime juice, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and a little S&P in a big bowl, cover and set aside.


When oven is preheated, brush both sides of each wedge of the cabbage with olive oil and place on jellyroll pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt and roast in oven for 20-30 minutes (check around the 15 minute mark to make sure there's no burning). If the core of the cabbage was kept intact & not removed before slicing, they can probably be flipped easily. If not, it's perfectly fine to just roast on one side. They'll still get that caramelly sweetness!


When cabbage is done, remove from oven & transfer to a plate. Turn heat down to 375, and transfer cod from the marinade to a roasting dish (or you can use the jellyroll pan from the cabbage like I did). Bake fish for about 30 minutes, or until flaky.
While cod is baking put its marinade in a saucepan to make the "slaw" sauce - add the mayo, cayenne, chili powder, garlic, and a little S&P, and heat over very low til thickened. Extra lime and/or cilantro could be added to the sauce if more tanginess is needed.
By this time the fish should be just about done. If making tacos, start heating the corn tortillas. If making salad, plate the fish, top with the "slaw" sauce, jicama salad, and sliced avocado. Good with a Pino Gris.