Fish Tacos from Baja California
A Mexican-inspired fish dish from Rick Stein. The fish taco recipe combines battered white fish with a red onion, tomato, red chilli, coriander and lime salsa.
Introduction
Perhaps the most thoroughly irresistible dish in this chapter. I’ve never been to Baja California in Mexico but I got the idea for this recipe from the television presenter and food journalist, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who lent me a book on the Baja because I’m very keen on surfing and the waves there are fantastic. He told me about this great dish consisting of a tortilla filled with deep-fried fish, coriander, chilli, tomato, a little soured cream and some salad. I knocked it all up according to how it sounded to me and it’s brilliant. One day I’ll make the trip to Ensenada with my big old Malibu and ride the odd small wave that may just happen down there.
Ingredients
| 2 | sea bream, sea bass or red mullet, weighing about 350g (12oz) each, filleted (see p. 13) |
| 8 | soft flour tortillas |
| 225g / 8oz | iceberg lettuce, finely shredded |
| 300ml / 10 fl oz | soured cream |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| Sunflower oil for deep-frying | |
| For the batter: | |
| 225g / 8oz | plain flour |
| 2 | eggs |
| 200ml / 7 fl oz | water |
| For the salsa: | |
| 1 | medium red onion, finely chopped |
| 5 | tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped |
| 3-4 | red chillies, seeded and finely chopped |
| 1 tsp | sugar |
| Juice of 1 lime | |
| 4 tbsp | chopped fresh coriander |
Method
First make the salsa by mixing together all the ingredients with a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Cut the fish fillets across into strips 1cm (½ in) wide and season with plenty of salt and pepper. For the batter put the flour eggs, water and a pinch of salt into a liquidizer and blend until smooth.
Pour the sunflower oil into a pan until it is about one-third full and heat to 190°C/375°F or until a small piece of white bread dropped into the oil browns and rises to the surface in 1 minute. Warm the tortillas in a low oven or a microwave.
Dip the strips of fish into the batter and then drop them into the hot oil and fry for 4 minutes, until crisp and golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper
To serve, put some lettuce down the centre of each tortilla, top with the fried fish, then spoon over some salsa and soured cream. Fold in the sides, roll up as tightly as you can and serve straight away, with some cold Mexican beer
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