I’ve loved fish tacos ever since my first taste in Mexico at a roadside stand. I’ve ordered them a number of times through the years (Longboard Louie’s in our hometown of Bend, Oregon, makes a great fish taco), but I’ve never made them at home.
Hubby found this grilled salmon taco recipe at EatingWell.com. The only problem is, it came in a four-sheet print-out – one recipe for grilling the salmon, one for the cabbage slaw, one for the citrus salsa and one for the cilantro crema.
Being a keep-it-simple sort of girl, I combined the slaw, salsa and sauce with a few substitutions into one easy recipe that can be set aside while the salmon grills. You can make this recipe with halibut or tilapia, as well.
Slaw/Salsa Ingredients:
1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 small orange, peeled with membrane removed and coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp Vegenaise
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Grilling Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp dark chili powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 4-oz salmon fillets
6 6-inch corn tortillas
Avocado slices
Directions:
1. Prepare cabbage, red pepper, red onion and oranges.
2. Combine vegetables and fruits in a bowl with Vegenaise, salt and pepper. Hubby doesn’t care for the taste of cilantro (I know, I know … who doesn’t like cilantro on Mexican-style dishes?), so I added it separately to my tacos.
Also, the original recipe calls for 1 tsp seeded and finely chopped serrano chile, but hubby – being the true gringo that he is – nixed that as well. This version of slaw is quite tasty but very mild … so you might want to add some kick.
3. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice and seasonings.
4. Cover a flat baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place salmon on foil and spread with half the olive oil/seasoning mix.
5. Place pan about 4″ from the grill (I used our oven broiler) and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once and spreading the other half of the olive oil/seasoning mix on the fish. Cut each fillet into finger-length pieces.
6. Meanwhile, as salmon cooks, heat corn tortillas on a non-greased flat cast iron skillet. Keep warm on a plate covered with a kitchen towel.
7. To serve, place grilled salmon pieces on tortilla and top with Slaw/Salsa mix. Serve with avocado. Makes enough for 2 hungry gringos.