Catfish Tacos With Pimento Cheese Crema and Watermelon Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 small avocado, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• Canola oil
• 1/2 pound catfish nuggets
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 6 smalls corn tortillas, warmed
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup crema mexicana
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 Juice of lime
• 1 Juice of lime
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 Zest of lemon
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 Persian cucumber, diced
• 2 tablespoons pimentos, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
• 1 cup Mexican cheese blend
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1/2 tablespoon Tabasco
• 1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
• 1 cup watermelon, seedless and chopped
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Instructions:

1. Starting with the catfish, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon zest, sriracha and garlic. Add the fish, coating well. Cover and pop into the fridge for an hour.
2. While the fish chills, mix together cornmeal, salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.
3. For the sauce, beat the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well, cover and chill.
4. Once the fish has finished marinating in the buttermilk, set a shallow pat of canola oil over medium high heat. As the oil heats, drop each piece of fish into the cornmeal coating, making sure to cover all sides. Fry each piece of fish for approximately 3-5 minutes (depending on size of the nuggets) or until done. Set aside to drain on a paper towel lined plate.
5. Fill the warm tortillas with a bit of cabbage, then pieces of catfish. Top with a bit of the pimento crema sauce and serve.
6. For salsa: Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Chill until ready to eat.

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