Sophie Wyburd’s Spiced Blackened Salmon Tacos with Orange Salsa
If you're looking for the perfect crowd-pleasing sharing dish to serve at your next gathering, look no further. With salmon coated in a fragrant spicy rub, charred under the grill and piled into corn tortillas with a fresh and zingy orange slaw, Sophie Wyburd's delicious tacos are the ultimate summery feast.
Introduction
There is a reason why fajita night had every family in a chokehold in the 2000s, and it is because it is a really fun way to eat. Popping lots of things in the middle of a table and getting people to help themselves is relaxed, a little chaotic, and ultimately communal – the way I like all my meals to be. These tacos look much fancier than they are, but in reality this meal involves very little cooking; all you need to do is make a zingy salsa, and grill chunky sides of salmon in spices until the flesh is charred. It would make a brilliant dinner on a weekend, but is also easy to bang together on a Wednesday night after work.
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | sweet smoked paprika |
| 2 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1½ tsp | cayenne pepper |
| 1 tsp | dried oregano |
| 2 tsp | soft light brown sugar |
| 2 × 600g sides of | salmon |
| 24 | corn tortillas |
| For the salsa: | |
|---|---|
| 1 | red onion |
| 2 | red chillies |
| Small bunch of | coriander |
| 6 | oranges |
| salt | |
| olive oil |
Method
Spoon the paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, dried oregano and soft brown sugar into a bowl, along with 2 teaspoons of salt and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix until you have a paste.
Place your sides of salmon in a large baking tray, skin-sides down, and rub the spice paste all over the flesh.
Preheat your grill to high.
To make the salsa, peel and finely dice the red onion, and finely chop the red chillies. Mix together in a bowl. Roughly chop the coriander, and set it aside. Slice the top and bottom ends off the oranges so that you can stand them up flat, then work your knife around them to peel off the skin. Cut the flesh into 2cm rounds, then dice them into 1cm chunks.
Add the diced oranges to the bowl with the onion and chilli, along with any juices, then give it all a good mix to combine.
Place your salmon under the hot grill and cook for 7–8 minutes – the top will char and get a beautiful crust, while the flesh will stay tender and soft.
While your salmon cooks, heat your tortillas. Turn a small burner on your hob to high and place your tortillas one at a time on the grate above the flame. Cook for a few seconds on each side, turning them over with metal tongs. Keep them warm by wrapping them in a clean tea towel while you cook the rest. Alternatively, cook them for about 20 seconds on each side in a hot, dry frying pan.
Stir the coriander into the salsa. Pop your tortillas onto plates, and bring the salmon and salsa to the table, then let everyone serve themselves by flaking off the salmon, and adding it to their tortillas with a spoonful of salsa.
