Review: Fish Tacos - Cuisine at Home - Feb 03

[Grace]

I can't rave enough about this recipe! It's a real 10 in my book! And I'm not much of a fish lover, but it's not the fish that's the star in this recipe - it's the FABULOUS Mango-Avocado Salsa and the Creamy Chipotle Sauce!! YUM!!!

Fish Tacos
Cuisine at Home - Feb 2003
4 Servings

Marinate in Lime Juice:
4 - 4oz. fresh tilapia fillets, halved (I've made this twice and used Dory and Cod, both were great)

Blend; Coat fish in:
3 Tblsp. all purpose flour
3 Tblsp. yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Serve with:
3 cups napa cabbage, shredded (I used romaine lettuce)
Mango-Avocado Salsa and
Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Corn tortillas (I used flour - I don't care for corn)

Preheat oven to 500º with rack on the top level.

Marinate tilapia fillets in lime juice for 10 minutes, turning to coat. Place baking sheet on oven rack and preheat 5 minutes.

Blend flour, cornmeal and seasonings in a shallow dish. Coat marinated fish on both sides with flour mixture. Remove hot pan from oven and spray with non-stick spray. Place fillets on hot pan and roast on top rack 5 minutes.

Serve fish and tortillas with shredded cabbage, mango salsa and chipotle sauce.

Mango-Avocado Salsa

Combine:
1 ripe yet firm mango, peeled, diced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 Tblsp. jalapeno, seeded, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
juice of one lime

Before serving, stir in:
1 firm yet ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, thinly sliced (I diced mine)
2 Tblsp. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Creamy Chipotle Sauce (my favorite part!!)

Stir together:
1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/4 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise
2 tsp. sugar
1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
juice of 1/2 lime

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl and adjust seasonings to taste. Let stand at least 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. (May be made several days ahead. Keep chilled until ready to serve.)

I will make this over and over and over again. Perfect food in my opinion!! :D

[BlueMoose]

Thanks for the review, Grace! I love the fish tacos in CL Complete. I'll have to try these, too.:)

[Cathy]

Thanks for the great review! These look great to try.

[Wendy w]

Thanks Grace! These look great! BF has never had fish tacos before but wants to try them. I have never made them. This may be my 1st attempt when I can tear myself away from the bbq.

[kabs]

Grace, thank you for posting this recipe. I made it tonight and it was DELICIOUS! This was my first foray into making fish tacos at home, and I will make them frequently now.

The only thing I did differently than the recipe was I used ground chipotle pepper instead of chipotles in adobo because its what I had at home. The salsa was so scrumptious, what a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. It's good enough to eat on its own.

I figured the WW points for those who are on WW and it broke down like this:

taco= 4 points
salsa= 3 points (for 1/4 of the recipe)
sauce = 2 points (for 1/4 of the recipe)

Thanks again!:D

[Grace]

Glad you liked it! I will be making this recipe frequently too.

[JBR]

I wanted to add to the great reviews of this recipe, and mention the versatility of the Chipotle sauce. I made the fish tacos on Wednesday night (used Mahi Mahi, since that is what I had in the freezer) and veggie burgers on Thursday topped with sliced avocado, onion and leftover Chipotle sauce (I used light sour cream instead of yogurt in the sauce). The tacos were great, but I think I enjoyed the saucey burgers almost as much!

I'll be repeating the sauce recipe often as a great way to use up the baggies of individual chipotles in my freezer. In addition to using it as a topping on sandwiches and wraps, I can imagine using it as a dip for fresh veggies, as a dollop on beans and rice or chile, as a sauce for grilled chicken breasts . . .

Judy

[Jessica]

This looks delicious. Do you think the sauce would work with just yogurt?

[JBR]

I prefer the thicker consistency that mayo (or sour cream) adds to the sauce, but I'd make it with just yogurt if that was what I had on hand. I also guess it depends on the brand of yogurt, since they vary. If I did it with just yogurt, I might ease up on the lime juice and/or sugar, since yogurt can be a bit sour and some brands can be sweet.

[colleency]

I made this last night. It was quite tasty. I should have only put one chipotle pepper in, because the sauce was too spicy for us. I had to dump a lot more yogurt in, and now I have too much leftover sauce!

The fish was really good. The cornmeal crust made it crunchy, which was perfect for fish tacos.

I also had a ...medical problem, I guess. About halfway through dinner the back of my hand started throbbing and burning. I must have gotten jalapeno or chipotle on it. I washed it, but it burned all night, even as I was trying to get to sleep.

[Chocolate Rose]

If you were going to serve these to a large group of people (say...maybe for July 4th - I still haven't decided what I want to make!!) what would you serve with them. I'm thinking abou the Borracho beans but maybe that would be too heavy for summer? I just don't know what would be good with these in hot weather. Any suggestions?

[Pony]

DH and I thought these were EXCELLENT! I made them last night using TJ's tilapia and served them with Rick Bayless's Rice with Roasted Poblano, Spinach and Fresh Cheese (mainly b/c we had leftovers of the rice that needed to be eaten up). I love mango and avocado, so I knew I would love this. They were a bit spicy from the jalapeno and I really enjoyed the chipotle sauce. I agree, the sauce could be added on a variety of sandwiches.

The changes I made were:
No cabbage,
Used regular tomatoes b/c the grape didn't look to good at the store,
and used sour cream instead of yogurt b/c I had it on hand,
and flour tortillas b/c I had it on hand (would love love love these on corn!)

This was a 10 in our house. Thanks for posting Grace.

Michelle

[PoppyJ]

Thanks Grace for this wonderful recipe! Fish tacos are my DH's favorite things and all he could say was "mmmm...make again please." I loved all the flavor combinations. I served it with homemade corn tortillas and the coleslaw recipe you posted before.

Keep the recipes coming!:D

[zackaboo]

I finally got around to trying these last night. Yum! I am wishing today that I had some leftovers. My DH - who told me last night that he is not a big fan of fish tacos - really enjoyed them as well. All of the components are good on their own but are great when combined!

[rosie_one]

Thanks zackaboo for bumping these out of oblivion. They sound great and I missed them the first time around. I'm making them tonight; I'll report back. :)

[LLR]

Thanks for the bump here too, I have this on my must try list very soon! Sounds great!

[rosie_one]

Wow, these were good!

I made them pretty well as written with the exception of using tabasco sauce instead of the jalepenos in the mango/avocado salsa and I cooked the tilapia on the grill rather than in the oven, which worked just fine. Oh, and I also used daisy sour cream and full fat mayo rather than the reduced fat in the creamy chipotle sauce, which of course, was tasty :).

The salsa recipe made a generous amount, so we had it as a first course with chips as well as on top of the tacos. And I agree with Grace, the creamy chipotle stuff was wonderful. I'm sure I'll use that as a condiment elsewhere and make the salsa as a stand alone too. The salsa was just beautiful. I loved the colors as much as the flavor. Three very good recipes on their own, but together they really are excellent. Perfect stuff for a late spring, early summer's evening.

Thanks to Grace for posting this and again to zackaboo for reintroducing it. We loved it!

[JulieAnn]

It's about time I thank you for this recipe, Grace! I've made it multiple times and we love it. Thanks so much for sharing. Maybe bumping this up will inspire someone else to try it!

[NancyR]

Well, I finally got around to trying this recipe and I have to say IT IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC !!!!! I didn't have a mango so I subbed two diced nectarines and thought they were great. I also plated this a little differently. I cooked the fish on the grill and when it was nearly done I threw a couple of flour tortillas on the grill to warm them. Then I put a warmed tortilla on each plate (they were big ones) covered with chopped romaine, added a good amount of salsa, topped with a nice cooked fish filet (tilapia), then drizzled sauce over all. It ended up like a salad topped with the fish and it was SO pretty with all of the colorful fruit and veggies. I swear I felt like I was dining at a really high end Mexican restaurant. It was so complete I don't think any sides were even necessary. If you haven't tried this yet you just don't know what you are missing and I HATE FISH !!! Thanks for posting, Grace.

[Grace]

I'm glad everyone's still enjoying this recipe! And I'm glad for the "bump" too, as I haven't made this recipe in a LONG time, and I have a bunch of cod in the fridge that needs to be used up. I love this recipe, and it's going on my menu for tomorrow! :D

[kima]

I had this at Grace's and loved it!
made it for my family and they loved it too!

Hey Grace! :) :)

My bear is trying to get your mouth to keep the beat! :D

[Grace]

Hi MO! I forgot that we had these when you were here?! That was probably the last time I had them. Wanna come for dinner tomorrow?! :D

And I still haven't forgotten that I owe you an email - it's coming soon - I promise! XO