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Baja Fish Tacos

4.9

(26)

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Photo by Alan Benson

This spiced fish is served on a fresh corn tortilla with pickled red onion, Baja cream and slaw and a spoonful of your favorite (store-bought or homemade) tomato salsa. This dish has a few elements, and most can be made ahead. I personally fell in love with the pickled onion, and once I started adding them to all my daily salads, I began making them in bigger and bigger batches.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

Pickled Red Onion:

1 large red onion, halved lengthways, thinly sliced
2 small green jalapeños
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt

Baja Cream:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lime juice, plus extra to taste
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
Pinch of sea salt

Baja Cabbage Slaw:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3/4 teaspoon lime juice
2 drops jalapeño Tabasco sauce
1/2 small head green cabbage, thinly sliced
Sea salt and ground black pepper

Marinated Fish:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 green jalapeño, chopped
1 lb flaky white fish filets
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Corn tortillas, for serving

Preparation

  1. Pickled Red Onion:

    Step 1

    To make the pickled red onion, place the onion and jalapeño in a heatproof medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, lime juice and salt. Bring to the boil over high heat, stirring until the salt dissolves, then pour over the onion and jalapeño. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before using. (Leftovers will keep up to 1 week in the fridge.)

  2. Baja Cream:

    Step 2

    To make the Baja cream, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, lime zest and salt in a small bowl, then taste for seasoning and lime juice.

  3. Baja Cabbage Slaw:

    Step 3

    To make the cabbage slaw, mix together the mayonnaise, lime juice and Tabasco in a bowl. Toss the cabbage with the mayonnaise mixture, season to taste and refrigerate.

  4. Marinated Fish:

    Step 4

    To marinate the fish, mix the olive oil, chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander and jalapeño in a non-reactive dish. Add the fish and marinate for 20 minutes.

    Step 5

    When ready to cook the fish, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Remove the fish from the marinade, place in the hot pan and season with salt.

    Step 6

    Cook the fish for 4 minutes, then turn over, season again with salt and cook for another 2 minutes or until just cooked through, depending on the thickness.

    Step 7

    Remove the pan from the heat and flake the fish with a fork, scraping up and mixing in any marinade that has stuck to the bottom.

  5. Assembly:

    Step 8

    Heat the tortillas according to the directions on the packet. To assemble the tacos, place a heaped spoon of the fish onto the centre of a warm tortilla. Top with the pickled onion and jalapeño, Baja cream, Baja cabbage slaw and tomato salsa.

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From It's Always About the Food: Recipes and Stories From a Food-Obsessed Community, © 2017 by Monday Morning Cooking Club. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.
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