Fish Tacos
What I really wanted to make for Cinco de Mayo was chiles en nogada, but once I saw the recipe I realized that it’s not something you can just whip up on short notice. You have to actually prepare for it. So I made fish tacos with homemade tortillas, because tacos are easy and delicious. I used tilapia because that’s what the guy at the store recommended, but you can use whatever fish you want. This recipe makes enough for two people, plus a little left over. Here’s what you’ll need:
For the grilled fish:
- 1 pound tilapia (or other fish of your choice) fillets
- 3 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- juice of one lemon
- juice of one lime
For the corn tortillas, it's more about getting the right proportions than following an exact recipe. The following table is a general guide:
| 4 tortillas | 8 tortillas | 16 tortillas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: MASECA Corn Flour package | |||
| Maseca | 1/2 cup | 1 cup | 2 cups |
| water | 1/3 cup | 2/3 cup | 1 1/3 cups |
| salt | pinch | 1/8 tsp. | 1/4 tsp. |
For the chipotle cream:
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 chipotles in adobe, finely chopped
- milk, enough to create a saucy consistency
To pull it all together:
- garnishes: shredded cabbage, radishes, salsa, cilantro, lime wedges, avocado, etc.
- beer
Everything actually comes together pretty quickly, and here are the steps: (Note: if you’re nervous about the fish sticking to the pan, you can use a nonstick grill pan or skillet. If you want that charred/grilled flavor and are feeling brave, use a cast iron grill pan or your actual grill.)
Marinate the fish. Put the fish, olive oil, juices, salt, and pepper into a container and let it sit for about 20 minutes. If you’re using a cast iron grill pan, crank up your stove to medium-high heat and let the pan get nice and hot. If you’re using nonstick, wait until you’re almost done making the tortillas to heat up your pan. Cast iron just takes forever to heat up.
Make the chipotle cream. Mix the yogurt, mayo, chipotles and milk until you get a consistency that’s thinner than sour cream but not super runny.
Make the tortillas. It’s not an exact science; you basically want to start with the proportions listed and add more water until the dough forms into a ball. It will do this on its own. Once it’s mixed, you can separate it out into smaller balls so that your tortillas will all be roughly the same size. For these, first I split the dough into two smaller balls, then split those into four even smaller balls. Then flatten and cook them. If you have a tortilla press, you can use that, otherwise use a rolling pin or other cylindrical shaped object you have around. I hear bottles of vodka work really well. You can use pretty much any pan with a wide, flat surface. The bigger the pan, the more tortillas you can cook at once. Again, if you’re worried about sticking, use a nonstick pan. I used a cast iron crepe pan and didn’t need to add any oil. Place the flattened tortilla on the pan and cook for about a minute per side. You can put the cooked tortillas in a bowl lined with a clean dish towel and keep them covered so that they stay warm and soft while you finish cooking everything else.
Cook the fish: if you started heating up your grill pan at the before doing anything else, it should be good and hot now. Brush your pan with some vegetable oil and place the marinated pieces of fish on it, being careful not to crowd them. Now LEAVE THEM ALONE. This can be the hardest thing to do because many people seem to want to constantly poke and prod at whatever’s in the pan. Don’t do it! If you try messing with the fish before it’s ready to be flipped over, you’ll be scraping tiny fish flakes out of your pan instead of beautiful big fillets. If the fish isn’t ready to be flipped, it won’t want to let go of the pan and you shouldn’t force it. So distract yourself if you have to: finish making the tortillas, set the table, start cleaning up, do whatever you need to do to keep yourself away from the pan for a few minutes. You’ll be rewarded with some nicely grilled pieces of fish, I promise. So how do you know when it’s time to flip? Gently ease a spatula under a part of the fish. It should lift away from the pan without much effort. When it does, you can scoot the spatula under the whole piece and flip it over. Note that the pieces might not all be ready to flip at the same time.
Once your fish and tortillas are cooked, it’s time to assemble your tacos! Because taco preparation is deeply personal, I like to just set everything out in individual dishes and let everyone make their own.
