Fish Tacos

A month or so ago, I tried (yet another) recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe: Orange Cashew Rice with Baked Tilapia. Since nearly every recipe I’ve tried from her site has ended up in our regular meal rotation, I had high hopes. Alas. The rice just wasn’t that great. A little dry. Not quite as flavorful as I’d hoped it would be.

The tilapia, however, was fantastic. Even David commented on how delicious it was without me having to ask, “So…what do you think?” first, which is always a good sign. Since the rice left something to be desired, I figured I needed to come up with some ot-her way to serve the fish.

Enter the taco.

What they lack in presentation, they make up for in scrumptiosity. Yes that is totally a word.

Mexican food is ubiquitous in Arizona, and fish tacos are on nearly
every menu. For years they freaked me out. I couldn’t explain it; I
liked fish, and I liked tacos, but something about the idea of fish in tacos just gave me the heebies.

Until I finally gave in and tried one. And it was delicious. And I never looked back.

My theory was that such a simple tilapia recipe would make the perfect base for some homemade fish tacos. I was right. They are SO GOOD.

The fish is easy; the rest of the taco is up to you. We are exclusively flour tortilla people, but I’m sure some folks would argue that corn is the way to go here. I served them last night for a few friends and put out spring greens, black beans, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and two different salsas–one with corn and one with mangoes and peaches. Honestly, I don’t care much what is on mine, as long as it includes lots of avocado. Like with any tacos, your personal tastes dictate the details.

Avocado: best food ever.

They’re fast and easy and if you make them, you should totally invite me over. I’ll bring dessert.


Lime Tilapia Fish Tacos (adapted very slightly from MKC)

tilapia fillets
limes, zest & juice
butter
salt (I use coarse sea salt)
small tortillas
taco toppings (tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cabbage, avocado, salsa, beans, and the like)

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking pan with foil & coat with
nonstick cooking spray. Rinse tilapia fillets & pat dry. (Obviously
the number of fillets you make will be determined by how many tacos you
want. One fillet is enough for 2 or 3 tacos, so plan accordingly.) 
Squeeze juice over each fillet. (Half a lime can do a fillet or two,
depending on how juicy it is.) Sprinkle fish with lime zest and salt.
Place a small pat of butter–less than half a tablespoon is plenty–on
each fillet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until fish flakes apart when cut
with a fork. Serve on warm tortillas with your favorite taco toppings.

They’re good cold for lunch the next day, too. I speak from experience. I had three.