The taco. The perfect vessel for delivering just about any kind of delicious protein and veggie combo you can think up. Here in San Diego, Taco Tuesday is more than just a pun, it’s an institution. Being located by the ocean, one variation on the taco pops up on the menu of every taco shop in the region: The Fish Taco. It goes by many names and many different flavors, and they’re all fantastic. My favorite uses a well seasoned white fish and some form of tasty sauce or salsa.
For The Fish
- 1 pound white fish (we used swai, but cod or tilapia would work great too)
- 1/2 olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- 1/8 cup freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
- small tortillas (I like a corn/flour blend tortilla for this, but use whatever kind you prefer)
- romaine lettuce or spinach
- tomatos (we typically use heirloom, but any tomato will work)
For The Sauce
- 1 large Hass avocado
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 Serrano pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup crumbled cotija
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 shot of gold tequila (we used Jose Ceurvo, but any brand will work. Just make sure it’s 100% agave)
- 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt (or more if you want the sauce to be creamier)
Take a knife (butter knife or something along the line will do for this) and cut the avocado in half. Remove the ‘stone’ or pit from the avocado using a spoon, then remove the green flesh from the fruit and place into a food processor. Combine your lime juice, diced serrano, cotija cheese, chopped cilantro, tequila, and greek yogurt into the processor and mix together until you reach a good, chunky blend that is a light green in color. Cover this and chill in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven at 400F. Dice your tomatoes and your lettuce or spinach and set to the side.
Combine your olive oil, salt, pepper, and diced garlic into a small mixing bowl and stir briefly, until the seasonings are spread fairly throughout the oil. You can choose to cut the fish into strips now, or cook it as one or two large pieces and cut it up afterwards. I chose to cut and then cook, as the individual smaller pieces will cook quicker than the whole fish. However you do it, cover your fish in your oil mixture and place on a baking sheet.
Take a small skillet and put it over medium heat on your stovetop, we’ll use this in just a moment to heat up the tortillas. Then, place the baking sheet into the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how done you like your fish to be.
After your skillet has had about a minute or two to heat up (water should sizzle a bit if you drip it on the heated portion), place the first tortilla in and cook for about 20 seconds or until that side is slightly browned in places, then flip and cook the other side. Once done, place onto a plate for serving (something heated or that will keep heat in, such as in a microwave would be great to keep them warm.)
Plating for this dish is totally up to you! We like to set it out as a taco bar, so that we just build them as we eat them. Don’t forget your avocado sauce in the fridge and feel free to apply heavily to each taco. Enjoy!
slightly luminous 