Smoked Fish Dip With Spicy Pickled Peppers And Torn Crostini

Ingredients

• 1 Anaheim chile
• 3/4 pound smoked cod or white fish
• skinned and boned
• 1/4 cup aioli or store-bought mayonnaise
• grated zest and juice of 1 large lime (about 1 tablespoon juice)
• plus more juice as needed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh cilantro
• finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano
• finely chopped
• 1 - 2 serrano chiles (depending on how spicy you want it)
• halved
• seeded and minced
• 1 small clove garlic
• minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 10 drops Mexican hot sauce (such as Cholula or Tapatio)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 - 6 pickled jalapenos
• thinly sliced lengthwise
• seeds discarded
• plus 2 tablespoons or more of the juice
• 30 torn garlic croutons
• (see intro)

Instructions

1. Roast the Anaheim chile directly over the flame of a stovetop burner or under a broiler, charring the skin on all sides.
2. Wrap the chile tightly in plastic wrap and allow it to steam for at least 15 minutes.
3. Rub off the skin, discard the stem and seeds and finely chop the chile.
4. Flake the fish into a bowl, and remove any small bones that remain.
5. Add the aioli and lime zest and juice, and use a whisk or wooden spoon to break up the fish more and combine the ingredients.
6. Add the cilantro, oregano, serrano chiles, garlic, cumin, hot sauce, 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and the pickled jalapeno juice and mix again.
7. Add more salt, pepper and pickled jalapeno juice to taste.
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
9. To serve, spoon a heaping tablespoon of the fish dip on each crouton and garnish with 1 to 2 jalapeno slices.
10. You can also serve the fish dip in a bowl with the croutons on the side for people to serve themselves.
11. In that case, have a bowl of the pickled jalapenos for people to use as they like.