I’ve wanted to make fish tacos for a while, as I liked the sound of the crispy batter adding a new texture, the sweetness from the fruit salsa working with the sweetness of the fish and spicy smokiness of the chipotle salsa. With all that in mind and taste buds going into overdrive, dinner last night turned into “Friday Fish Fiesta”, such a fun way to celebrate the start of the weekend. It was fish tacos and classic margaritas with salt rims galore.
Serves: 3
Prep time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
For the pineapple and mango salsa:
- 3 of each mango and pineapple sticks, finely chopped
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
- Sea salt, to taste
For the fish
- 4 fillets of fish, boneless and skinless. I used medium sized fillets of sea bream
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- 1tsp salt, for the batter and extra for seasoning the fish
- 1tsp black pepper, ground
- 120g plain flour
- 150 ml beer approximately, I used Lagunitas Ipa. I don’t drink beer and so got terrible confused trying to figure out which one to use. This one gave a nice flavour to the batter.
- Vegetable oil, enough to cover a depth of 1 1/2 inch of the frying pan
Garnishes:
- Sour cream, thinned down a little
- Yellow cherry tomatoes, chopped and seasoned with sea salt
- Red cabbage, finely shredded
- Fresh coriander leaf, chopped
- Chipotle salsa, I used shop bought
- Mini flour tortilla, warmed
- Wedges of lime
Method:
In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the salsa, check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Portion the fish into your desired sizes; I kept the portions on the larger size.
Season the fish with salt and rub with the crushed garlic
In a mixing bowl place the flour, baking powder, mustard, salt, pepper, oregano and coriander.
In a frying pan, add the oil and heat to 190c
Back to the flour mix. Add the beer gradually, whisking until a smooth batter is formed. The thickness of the batter should be like yoghurt.
When the oil has reached temperature, dip the fish into the batter mix, removing the excess before placing the fish in the hot oil away from you. Cook each piece of fish for approximately 4 minutes or until golden brown. If you have done it right, your fish batter should be golden and crispy, if its soggy the oil was too hot and the batter too thick.
Remove from the cooked fish from the oil using tongs and drain on kitchen paper.
Warm the tortilla in the microwave for 30 seconds or place in a hot oven making sure the tortillas are coved so not to dry out for 5 minutes.
This is where Friday Fish Fiesta begins, grab yourself a salt rim margarita (the classic is the best, but I do like hibiscus and tamarind versions too), a little music and good company. Then load your tacos with the salsas, cabbage, tomatoes, fish, sour cream, coriander and squeeze of lime, and go in for the bite.
Notes
I really liked the crispy batter but for a healthier version, I would omit the batter and frying opting for a marinated grilled fish.
For the marinade use 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds, 1 tsp salt, 1tsp pepper, 1tsp dried oregano, 1tsp dried coriander, juice of 1/2 lime and 1 tbsp oil. Place all the ingredients in a processor and blend, pour over the fish and marinade for 1hr. Griddle the fish with the skin left on, cook until the skin is crispy, flip the fillet and cook for a further minute or two until done.
The Dish Served 