Beach Days and Fish Tacos
It’s funny how food grounds us in places and seasons of life isn’t it? Think about it, I guarantee you there are certain dishes you only enjoy in a certain place, or that immediately can transport you to a time and location with the first bite. Clam chowder takes me to the Pacific Northwest, Gelato reminds me of a trip to Italy where I ate it maybe twice a day for a week just because it was so dang amazing and you can do that when you’re 18. Pina Coladas remind me of so many trips to Hawaii with my family, and bowls of hot steamy pho transport me to the drizzly streets of Seattle. Sometimes we come across a new recipe and make it weekly for a season, which leads us to remember that summer as the summer of chipotle chicken kebobs or the winter of the wild rice soup. I think that’s one of the reasons food is so powerful. It’s not just for nourishing and fueling our bodies, it’s memories are meant to bring pleasure.
A year ago our family migrated from west coast to the southeast and found ourselves in a beach town 15 minutes from the warm waters and soft sand of the Atlantic coast. One of the things I noticed here is that everywhere we went to eat they had some type of taco on the menu, and not usually typical beef or chicken tacos that I grew up with or the carne asada street tacos so prevalent in Los Angeles. Everywhere had some type of unique taco—often involving different kinds of fish or shrimp, which makes sense given our proximity to the ocean. Some of the favorite we’ve discovered (because I started making it my mission to try them all!) involve teriyaki sauce, bacon, shoe string potatoes, various creamy sauces, so many combinations that are all so so delicious. I’ve enjoyed a fish taco before but until I moved here I never knew there were so many flavor varieties possible! They’ve become the dish that has so clearly reminded me over and over again that this is a new home, a new place, a new season in life. When I moved to Seattle I learned to drink coffee and love salmon. When I moved to Pasadena I experienced Pad Thai for the first time and became obsessed. Now I live in Jacksonville and I eat tacos and shrimp. Lots and lots of fish tacos and shrimp dishes. My kids have discovered the joy of seafood as well here—both of them will eat fish tacos as long as they aren’t spicy and both of them go absolutely bananas over “shrimpys” in any form—coconut, served in pasta or in a curry sauce—they can’t get enough. As we’ve explored various local eateries and played around with new flavors at home it’s been fun to find a few dishes that I know will always bring me back to this first year here in Florida when I enjoy them a decade from now. They are the perfect meal to grab on a warm Saturday evening as you head home from the beach--stopping to order dinner in still-sandy flip flops and bathing suit coverups. Tacos have come to say "beach day" to me. You can’t get Alaskan salmon right off the boat here like you can in Seattle but you can get some pretty fantastic seafood and watching my boys experience some of these new things and learn to love them has been one of the most fun things about exploring a new city. Food grounds us in places and seasons and this first year in Florida has been firmly grounded in tacos and shrimp. Lots of tacos and shrimp.
Our recipe today is of course a fish taco recipe. Actually it’s two different recipes I combined. I tried one. Then I tried the other. I discovered I liked some pieces of the first and some aspects of the second so the third time I combined the two. It’s incredible. Absolutely incredible. If you don’t have seafood lovers maybe try tacos—there’s other stuff involved so it’s not a strong fishy taste or texture. And if someone doesn’t like tacos (Asher doesn’t all the time, he gets frustrated when they fall apart) you can serve this meal “deconstructed” and let the kiddo eat a tortilla, fish on the side with the dipping sauce and mango slaw or avocado as a side dish.
SARAH’S MANGO FISH TACOS WITH A LIME CREMA
For the lime crema:
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
zest from half a lime
For the mango slaw:
1 ripe mango, peeled, cored, and diced
2 cups shredded cabbage (green, red, or a combination)
2/3 cup shredded carrots
2/3 cup roughly-chopped fresh cilantro leaves, loosely-packed
1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
1 lime, juice of - (about 2 tablespoons)
For the fish marinade:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mild white fish like tilapia filets
For serving:
Corn tortillas
Avocado slices
In a small bowl, combine the vegetable oil, lime juice, cumin, paprika, coriander, red pepper powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dip the fish into the bowl and turn the fish until it is evenly coated with the marinade. Place the fish onto a lined baking tray and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Mix up the mango slaw by combining the ingredients in a bowl and mixing. Refrigerate until serving time.
Mix up the lime crema by combining the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until serving time.
Bake the tilapia filets at 400 for 9 minutes or so (you’ll know it’s done when it flakes easily with a fork).
Warm the corn tortillas either on a griddle or in the microwave and serve with pieces of fish, a scoop of the mango slaw, a dollop of the lime crema and a slice of avocado.
