Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tilapia Tacos with Avocado Cream


So, tacos don't seem to photograph well.

But these are REALLY delicious. I'm pretty sure you could put the avocado cream sauce on a shoe and it would be delectable.

I just discovered tilapia recently... it's a nice, mild white fish. A good fish for those who are fish beginners. And did I mention it is inexpensive? Double bonus.

Gather:

For the fish:
frozen tilapia fillets - 1 for each person
1 lime, thinly sliced
butter
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
ground cumin

For the Avocado Cream:
1 large ripe avocado
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large clove garlic, grated on microplane
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Garnish:
corn tortillas, 2 for each person
cabbage or lettuce, chopped (I prefer cabbage - it's more traditional for fish tacos)
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
diced tomatoes
fresh cilantro
avocado slices
chunky salsa
lime slices for squeezing

Preheat the oven to 400. Arrange the frozen tilapia in a pan, dot with butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin, and lay lime slices over each fillet.

Place the tilapia in the oven, it will bake about 30 minutes.

While the fish is working, make your avocado cream sauce. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender (or you can use an immersion blender) and whiz till smooth and creamy. Check for seasonings - add more to your taste.

Prep the accouterments. I sometimes fry the corn tortillas in a little bit of vegetable oil, or sometimes I just warm them in the microwave. The frying tastes better (what doesn't taste better fried?) but isn't as healthy. The choice is yours. I fry mine in a deep, heavy saucepan with about an inch of oil over medium high heat. I only fry them for about 20-30 seconds - you want the tortilla to still be pliable - and then drain over paper towels.

When the fish is ready (flaky and opaque), remove from the oven. Break the fish into chunks, and assemble the tacos.

And yes, you'll need napkins. Lots of napkins...

3 comments:

  1. mmmm.... fish tacos. I usually use tilapia in our fish tacos. I blacken it though because the super spicy fish and the cool salsa/sour cream/avocado toppings are just too good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ohhh. Blackening sounds great. I'll have to try that next.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HEY! Sara makes fish taco's with an avocado cream sauce that is a delicious adaptation of something she made for CEiMB. NO FAIR YOU STEALER - oh and you have to rub salt in the wound by making them look so scrumptious too, don't you? DON'T YOU!?!!?!

    :-P

    --Nick

    ReplyDelete