This fish taco recipe is just in time for a Cinco de Mayo feast!
I stumbled upon this gem while looking for a quick weeknight meal to eat before a long night of Patch election coverage. It’s by Anne Burrell, of Food Network’s “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.”
(If you haven’t watched her show, I must insist that you do so, possibly even before eating these tacos. Unlike many Food Network shows – I’m looking at you, Rachel Ray – Burrell is seemingly unscripted and haphazardly hilarious. You get the feeling that she’s saying the first thing that comes to her mind, from “Big meat!” to “Hello, my cute little vegetables!” If I’m making her sound crazy, it’s because she is – in an adorable, let’s-be-best-friends-and-cook-together way.)
OK, enough about the show. Let’s talk tacos. These tacos are a little different from what you may typically get from taco stands. The fish isn’t fried, and they use flour tortillas (but who’s to say you can’t use corn? Not me.) After a zesty marinade of paprika and lime and a few minutes in the oven, the fish comes out soft, flaky and flavorful – the perfect complement to Burrell’s crunchy slaw.
Finish them off with cilantro, sea salt, ground pepper and bit more paprika for color and you’ve got a super-tasty dinner in less than 20 minutes, start to finish. Got a little extra time on your hands? or .
Fish Tacos with Crunchy Slaw
Adapted from Anne Burrell’s “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef”
Ingredients
Fish:
- 1 pound flaky white cod fillets (or any other kind of white fish)
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon pimenton
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
Slaw:
- 1/2 head Napa cabbage shredded
- 3 scallions, sliced thinly on the bias
- 1 jalapeno, minced, optional
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- Kosher salt
- 8 flour tortillas
- 1 avocado, halved, pitted and flesh sliced
- 1 lime, for topping
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the fish into strips. Combine the fish with the lime zest and juice, paprika, garlic, oil and salt, to taste, in a medium bowl. (This can be done a day ahead, covered and refrigerated, but doesn’t need to be. 10 minutes is long enough to marinate.)
- Combine the cabbage, scallions and jalapeno, if using, in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, honey, sugar and oil. Add to the cabbage mixture and toss until well dressed. Season with salt, to taste.
- Wrap the tortillas in foil. Put the fish strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put the fish and tortillas in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the fish and tortillas from the oven. Put some fish in the center of a tortilla, top with a couple of avocado slices and finish with some of the cabbage slaw. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
