Taco Tuesday: Spiced Tilapia Tacos with Corn, Avocado & Quick-Pickled Veggies
It's Tuesday and tacos are in order. This works out well and the reasons are three-fold:
1) I love themes,
2) I love alliteration, and most importantly...
3) I love tacos.
There's really not much more else to say. I'll say a tiny bit more, though.
The addition of fennel to the spice mix may seem out of place. And hey, it probably is; but I made a toasted spice vinaigrette the other night and had a mixture of toasted and ground spices leftover that I wanted to use. I threw in some smoked paprika (and caution to the wind), and voilà! Deliciousness ensued.
Spiced Tilapia Tacos with Corn, Avocado & Quick-Pickled Veggies
Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
For Tilapia:
2 small tilapia filets (or flaky white fish of your choice)
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground fennel (optional)
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
salt/pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp. coconut oil for pan-frying (you could also use vegetable oil, but coconut oil works well for high heat—I get my super cheap organic virgin coconut oil at Trader Joe's)
For Quick-Pickled Veggies:
1 medium carrot
5-6 small radishes
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced or minced
1/8 c. apple cider vinegar
1/8 c. water
1/2 tsp. sugar
To Serve:
1 c. fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels
1 avocado, sliced
Small, soft tortillas of your choice (I prefer corn)
Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
Method:
1. First, make your pickled veggies to throw in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the meal. Peel carrot to remove bitter outer layer and cut ends of radishes. Either by hand, or using a mandolin (a very useful kitchen tool), thinly slice carrots and radishes and put in a small glass jar. Add cilantro and garlic to the jar, as well as the apple cider vinegar, water and sugar. Secure lid and shake vigorously for about a minute until well mixed. Pop in the fridge to let the power of pickling work its magic.
2. Heat oven to 200 degrees or the warm setting for warming your tortillas later. Slice avocado and set aside. I posted a link to a video demonstrating how to dice and slice an avocado in a previous post.
3. Season tilapia filets with a dash of salt. Thoroughly mix flour, spices, salt/pepper in a bowl and pour onto a large plate. Dredge each filet in the flour mixture, making sure all parts of the filet are properly coated.
4. Add coconut oil to large saute pan on medium-high heat until it shimmers. You will know it is ready for frying if you drop a tiny bit of water into the pan and it sizzles. Once it reaches this point, carefully add the tilapia to the pan and fry until golden brown, approximately two minutes on each side. Immediately remove filets from pan onto a plate and add corn to hot pan.
5. Warm tortillas in the oven for a minute or two while you flash-fry the corn in the tilapia-seasoned pan. Add more coconut oil if necessary.
6. To serve, roughly chop cooked tilapia for filling tortillas. Top with corn, avocado, pickled veggies and a dollop of Greek yogurt (or sour cream if you're feeling less virtuous).
