Let’s taco’bout it 🙂
That joke was ‘cheesy but grate’… okay, I’ll stop now! That’s our son, Michael, rubbing off on me. He’s the king of cheesy puns at home.
Seriously now…we’re thrilled to showcase these fish tacos on our incredibly beautiful new cutting board (chef’s quality end grain butcher block), sponsored by our new friends at Larch Wood Enterprises. Look at those grain patterns! This butcher block is like a piece of art in our kitchen. Art that’s amazing to work on, that is.
About the cutting board…
This board is a lot more than just a “pretty face”. For centuries, larch has been prized for its durability and rot resistance. Larch is used for boat-building, flooring, lobster traps, countertops, tabletops and more. The cutting board featured in our picture is made from this wood’s beautiful and unique end-grain. I’m certain professional chefs love this board, but honestly, every home cook should use a quality last-you-for-a-lifetime board like this at home, too.
East Coast awesomeness!
As if all this wasn’t more than enough of a reason for us to love our new cutting board, the good folks at Larch Wood Enterprises are located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (yup – we’re proud Canadians too). We have wonderful memories of visiting this part of Canada on two separate road trips. Just today, our 9 year old asked when we could do another trip to Canada’s East Coast. Had I known about Larch Wood Enterprises on our trip there last year, we would have definitely stopped for a visit (and I would have drooled a little bit, I’m sure).
Tacos and Food Trucks
Maybe it’s because of all the food shows I’ve watched over the years, but I somehow always relate tacos to food trucks. Sure, it’s a popular place to get them, but it’s definitely easy to make them at home! With tacos, let your culinary creativity run wild. There really aren’t many rules. Start with a corn or wheat flour tortilla. Add meat, fish, pork or just leave the protein off. Top it off with preferred veggies, herbs, sauce and a squirt of citrus. Sure, it’s a fun street food… but it really is a perfect meal to make at home, too.
Inspiration while I waited
On a recent visit to the grocery store, while in the checkout line, a magazine caught my attention. The current edition was completely dedicated to taco recipes. Hello my friend! I flipped through it briefly, while I waited. That’s why the magazines are there right? To entertain you so you forget you’re waiting in a line. Whatever…it worked for me! I made a mental note to feature our own taco recipe on our blog, soon.
The day couldn’t come soon enough. I thought about fish tacos for the rest of the week until I finally had time to make them this weekend–not that they take long to make–it was just ‘one of those’ busy weeks.
The recipe turned out fantastic! Everyone at home loved it. Even our little picky eater enjoyed this ‘something new’. It was his own custom version, of course, but that’s perfectly fine. I was also extremely pleased with the flavourful mayo-like sauce I whipped up. This could be (and likely will become) a recipe post of its own. I’ll be making this sauce again for other dishes too…guaranteed!
Sure, a lot of people celebrate Taco Tuesdays… but I say, let this delicious food meet other days of the week. Go on…be your own taco boss! Enjoy these tacos today (I don’t even care what day it is…). Tacoday and every day, eat well, friends.
The sauce is easy prepare, the fish is easy cook and the toppings are easy to cut up... why not try these delicious fish tacos at home? Your guests will be so impressed!
- 1 lbs red snapper fillets (4 or 5 fillets)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 small soft tortillas
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 + 5 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups thinly shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 cup red cabbage, shredded into thin strips (about 1/8 of a small cabbage)
- 1/2 cup red onion, peeled and diced (about 1/4 of a small onion)
- 1 medium avocado, peeled and sliced
- Sriracha sauce to taste
- 1/2 cup cilantro (long stems removed)
- 8 lime wedges
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Prepare the sauce and toppings first.
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In a medium bowl, pour in 2 tsp of lime juice and the egg yolks.
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Using a hand mixer (you can also use a stand mixer or blender) on medium, beat the yolks and lime juice until the mix starts to thicken and become bright yellow. about 30 seconds to 1 minutes.
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Add the old bay seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic and mustard. Continue to mix for 30 seconds.
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Pour in the oil very slowly and in a very thin stream, about 1 tsp at-a-time. This will emulsify the mixture (thicken it). Each time you add a little oil, keep mixing.
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Once all the oil is used, start adding in the remaining lime juice 1 tsp at-a-time and mixing until you reach the preferred consistency. Ours was creamy and not runny. You can add another 1 or 2 tsp of water if you want the sauce thinner.
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Place the sauce in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
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Preheat the oven to 450 ºF
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Cut up/prepare the toppings and set them aside.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Place the fillets on the parchment paper.
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Sprinkle the salt, black pepper and paprika evenly over the fillets.
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Cut thin slivers of butter and place a couple over each of the fillets.
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Place the baking sheet in the oven about 9 minutes. The fish should flake easily.
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Warm the tortillas on low heat on a cast iron griddle or in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
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Time to assemble the tacos! This is of course flexible, our instructions are just a suggested approach.
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Place a tortilla on a plate. Add a bit of lettuce, red cabbage, a few pieces of fish, red onion, avocado, sauce, Sriracha and top with cilantro. At this point you can squirt some lime juice over top, or place a wedge or two of lime for each person to squeeze their own.
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Ideally, serve the tacos as soon as their assembled and enjoy them hot!
You can substitute the snapper with another firm, white, mild-tasting fish.
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