By Beth V
Have you ever tried Fish Tacos? When you think of fish tacos, do you think, “Yum, what a treat!” or do you think, “Fish taco meat? Gross!”? My own dear mom has the second reaction. Once you’ve tried them, you come to realize that fish tacos are in a completely different category than regular tacos. It’s not just throwing a packet of taco seasoning on fish and using all of the same accompaniments you would use on ground beef tacos. Think instead of well-seasoned, grilled or pan-fried fish tucked into a warm tortilla on a bed of shredded cabbage, with a dollop of lime-infused avocado cream and fresh-chopped pico de gallo. There is no “fishiness” just freshness. Fresh, healthy, palate-pleasing flavors.
We’ll start by chopping vegetables for fresh pico de gallo. There are five simple ingredients – tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. The heat-level of the pico de gallo is determined by how you chop the jalapeno.
Start by removing the stem, then slice the jalapeno in half, lengthwise. See the seeds and membranes? If you remove all of the seeds and membranes, you will have a flavorful, yet mild pico de gallo. If you want to keep the heat, you can leave some or all of the membranes and seeds in tact as you chop. Chop each jalapeno half into match-stick size strips. Gather the strips together and finely chop down the length of the strips. This technique will give you a nice, fine dice.
Chop the tomatoes, onions and cilantro and stir together with the chopped jalapeno. Roll the lime on the counter to release the juices, then cut in half and squeeze both halves over the chopped veggies. Give the mixture a few shakes of salt and stir. My pico de gallo is a little light on cilantro because a certain person in our family is not a cilantro-lover. If you like lots of cilantro, as I do, you may want to double or triple the amount in the recipe.
The avocado cream consists of fresh avocado, a little sour cream, half and half, and lime juice. Slice the avocado in half length-wise. Open and remove the large pit. Sometimes, they just fall right out, other times, you need to use a spoon to scrape under the pit and release it. You are left with the avocado flesh. Take a spoon and gently separate the flesh from the skin.
Throw the avocado flesh into a food processor or blender and squeeze the juice of 2 limes over it to keep it from turning brown. Next, add ¼ cup half and half and 2 tablespoons of light sour cream. Puree until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt, to taste. Start with 1/8 teaspoon, adding a little more if necessary. You want it to not be bland, but keep in mind the seasonings on the fish will add a lot more flavor and saltiness to the finished taco. Cover the bowl and the surface of the avocado cream with plastic wrap like a “skin” to protect the avocado from turning brown. Both the avocado cream and pico de gallo can be made several hours ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
For the cabbage, cut off the tough stem, remove the outer leaves and cut the head in half from top to bottom. Remove the core by slicing on either side of it with a sharp knife, then pulling it out. Place the cabbage half, cut side down, on a cutting board and cut fine slices of cabbage. The slices come apart into thin ribbons of cabbage, perfect for fish tacos. This step can be completed 2 or more days in advance.
I used tilapia, but you could use any mild-flavored, white fish. Pat the fillets with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, and then add seasoning. If you want very mild, yet flavorful fish, sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. If you like a coating of spice on your fish, choose a seasoning like McCormick Cajun, which contains salt, pepper and garlic powder, but also contains some cayenne pepper, adding a nice bit of heat to your otherwise cool ingredients. Give the fish a nice coating of either seasoning. We enjoyed the Cajun seasoning on our fish.
Now, heat a couple of teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the fish for about 2 minutes per side, watching carefully not to overcook. The fish should be opaque all the way through and should flake easily with a fork.
If you are serving a small family, you can warm the tortillas individually in a dry skillet over medium heat. Place them in the skillet for maybe 15-30 seconds, just until soft and warmed through. If you are feeding a crowd, tightly wrap a stack of tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven.
Now, let’s assemble the tacos. Spread about a tablespoon of the avocado cream over your warm tortilla. Next add some of the shredded cabbage, then your fish. Top with a heaping spoonful of pico de gallo and a sprinkle of shredded Colby-jack cheese - such a delicious combination of flavors.
Isn’t this a beautiful dish? I love the colors. The flavors are so fresh and tasty and this is a truly light and healthy dish. You can vary the tortilla to your calorie and fiber standards – choose a thin whole-wheat or multi-grain tortilla for the most nutrition. You’ve got fiber in the tortilla, lean-protein from the fish, heart-healthy fats and vitamin E in the avocado, all sorts of vitamins and anti-oxidants in the tomatoes and did I mention it tastes amazing? Try fish tacos! You’ll love them. Now, I need to make these for my mom!
Enjoy!
Fish Tacos
Serves 4-51 package whole wheat tortillas
1 recipe avocado cream (below)
½ a head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 lb tilapia or other mild, white fish
Seasonings of choice: Cajun-type seasoning (spicy option), or salt, pepper and garlic powder (mild option)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 recipe pico de gallo (below)
Shredded Colby-jack cheese
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. While the oil is heating, pat dry the fish fillets with a paper towel and sprinkle generously on both sides with seasoning of choice. Cook the fish about 2 minutes per side, being careful not to overcook. The fish is done when it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
To assemble the tacos:
Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium heat or in the oven tightly wrapped in foil just until warm.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of the avocado cream on the warm tortilla, layer some cabbage, ½ of a fish fillet, a heaping spoonful of pico de gallo and a sprinkling of the cheese.
For the pico de gallo:
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed (if desired), and finely chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro, or more to taste
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 12 hours in advance.
For the avocado cream:
2 avocados
Juice of 2 limes
¼ cup half and half
2 tablespoons light sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt, may need more to taste
Slice the avocado in half from top to bottom. Using a spoon, remove pit and separate the flesh from the skin. Place avocado flesh in a food processor or blender and immediately squeeze the lime juice over the avocado to preserve the color.
Add the half and half and sour cream to the processor bowl. Puree until smooth.
Transfer to a bowl, stir in salt, tasting as you go, being careful to add too much. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the cream to form a “skin” to prevent browning. Store the cream in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
Beth is a stay-at-home mom of three wonderfully active children ages seven, four and one. She is married to Jason V (who also writes for us here at MAD21) and spends her days teaching, changing diapers, sweeping up Cheerios, stepping over Legos, keeping peace among the kids, and enjoying the creative outlet of cooking.