Why has it taken me so long to embrace the fish taco? It's nothing short of genius: take whatever leftover fish you have and throw it into a soft taco shell with some thinly sliced cabbage and onion. It tastes fresh and healthy and not even a little bit lazy. Here’s how we’ve been doing fish tacos lately, though I'd imagine there are about as many variations as there are fish in the sea.
Fish Tacos
1 package corn tortillas
½ lb. leftover fish or pieces for frying
¼ head of cabbage, finely shredded
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
Whole cilantro leaves
½ cup mayo
Juice of ½ lime
½ shallot, chopped
½ jalapeño, minced, seeds removed
1 Tbsp. fresh herbs like dill, oregano, parsley
¼ tsp. dried cumin
Dash cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
First, I get my vegetables ready—in this case, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced red onion, and cilantro leaves. I keep the cilantro leaves separate from the herbs in the dressing because people either love cilantro or hate it. This way, you can either pile it on (yes, yes, yes!) or leave it out at your own discretion.
Then I make the sauce: whisk the mayo with lime juice and add the chopped shallot, jalapeño, herbs, spices, salt, and pepper. I like it heavy on the dill. Taste it and once you get the flavor you like, you can thin it with milk or buttermilk, thicken it with more mayo, or just leave it alone. If you should find yourself with too much sauce, it also makes a great dressing for coleslaw.
Next, the fish. We really like pollock in our tacos, though we’ve also enjoyed haddock and hake (aka merluza). Sometimes we use leftover fish and other times I’ll deep fry some for the occasion. For batter, I either coat the fish pieces in buttermilk or plain yogurt thinned with milk and dredge them in cornmeal, or make a beer batter with ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup cornstarch, and enough beer to make a batter of a reasonable consistency. Then I drink the remaining ¾ bottle of beer to make the frying go faster. You want the oil hot (375°F) so the fish comes out light and crispy, not sodden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
When you’re on your last batch of fish, wrap a stack of corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and heat the whole thing in the microwave on medium-low for a minute. Flake the fish into bite-sized pieces. Assembly, to be done individually at the table, is just a matter of taking two tortillas, making a small pile of cabbage, onion, cilantro, and fish down the center, and applying sauce. Don’t be too stingy with the sauce—you’ll want at least a tablespoon on there. It’s a pretty healthy meal overall.
