I’m posting this on a Saturday morning, just in time to suggest a weekend meal for you. Tacos. Not those standard beef/chili tacos. Fish tacos, blatantly bold fish tacos. Suzi and I have used smoked salmon for a Seattle-style taco. Or, here, we use a wetter ceviche-style fish augmented with a modest salsa and a chipotle dressing. As with any taco, you can adorn your creation at will with avocado, lettuce, tomato, or cilantro.
Feel free to experiment and scramble the ingredients in a culinary frenzy. This is a great weekend dinner, one where you can have the whole family in the kitchen making their personal contributions.
You probably want to assign someone to make guacamole!
The picture at the bottom shows smoked salmon tacos, adorned with tomatoes, caramelized onions and cheese. An excellent alternative for you.
Cooking by the Book Fish Tacos
Yield: serves 8
Ingredients:
For the fish marinade:
- 2 pounds white flakey fish
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon chili powder, ancho
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Juice of ½ orange
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Olive oil for cooking the fish
For the salsa:
- 2 large or 3 small poblano chili’s, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 cup frozen corn, roasted in a dry cast iron pan
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
- 4 scallions, grilled and sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing:
- 1 canned chipotle chili with adobo sauce minced into a paste, or to taste
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of cumin, optional
- Heavy cream to dressing consistency, optional
- 8 corn tortillas, pan roasted and kept warm in a cloth
For the garnish:
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
- Shredded romaine lettuce
- Cilantro sprigs
- Lime wedges
Preparation:
For the fish:
Blend all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl add fish and let sit at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes. Place one tablespoon olive oil in a stove top grill pan and heat the pan until hot. Add the fish and grill for about 2 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove to a bowl and flake into bite size pieces.
For the salsa:
Combine all the salsa ingredients in a small bowl.
For the cream dressing:
Combine the chipotle chili, mayonnaise, yogurt, heavy cream, cumin (optional) until dressing consistency, you may place it in a squeeze bottle if you have one on hand, if not just spoon a bit over the plated taco.
To assemble:
Place two corn taco shells on a medium plate, divide the fish among the 8 taco shells, top with salsa, shredded lettuce, avocado wedge, drizzle dressing and garnish with lime wedge and cilantro sprig.
Source: Cooking by the Book Staff
Photo Information [Top]: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for1/50th second at ISO‑1600
Photo Information [Bottom]: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4 for1/50th second at ISO‑800
