Amazing Fish Tacos, Avocado Salsa, Crispy Sweetcorn Fritters, Chipotle Sauce

Amazing Fish Tacos, Avocado Salsa, Crispy Sweetcorn Fritters and Chipotle Sauce. I say these are amazing because they are definitely one of the nicest recipes I have created. These Mexican inspired Fish Tacos are full of flavour and perfect for summer- you could even cook the cod wrapped in tin foil on the BBQ! I have served them with an avocado salad and crispy sweetcorn fritters. The Fish Tacos have a good spice to them but you can adjust the heat to your liking. I have used cod from my supplier, Peterhead Fish Company and as always I highly recommend them for great quality fish, friendly service and delivery over Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire! You could easily substitute cod in these tacos for other fish – monkfish, haddock or prawns would work really well.I have recently been buying Mexican ingredients from Cool Chile Co and have been really impressed- the authenticity of the products really shine through.

Make these Fish Tacos as part of a Mexican Feast along with my Chicken Fajitas and my Brisket Chocolate Chilli

RECIPE

SERVES 4 (around 3 tacos each)

Difficulty Level Home Cook

Ingredients:

For the Fish Tacos:

• 3-4 cod loins
• Taco spice mix: 2 tablespoons garlic powder and black pepper, 1 tablespoon of ground cumin and fennel (get even better flavour if you grind the seeds yourself), 1 tablespoon each of cayenne pepper, smoked salt, chilli powder and Mexican oregano (I used Cool Chile Co) and 1 teaspoon each of paprika and chilli flakes.
• Olive oil
• 10-12 mini corn tortillas (I used Cool Chile Co)
• Squeeze of lime juice (use the lime for the avocado salsa below)

For the Avocado Salsa:

• 1 Avocado, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• Juice from one lime
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• Good grind of salt and pepper

For the Sweetcorn fritters:

• 200g frozen Sweetcorn, cooked and then cooled
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• White pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• 80g plain flour
• 150ml sparkling water
• Salt
• Sunflower oil

For the chipotle sauce

• 2 tablespoons chipotle paste (I used Cool Chile Co)
• 200ml of plain Greek yoghurt- low fat usually is thinner and easier to pour- or mayonnaise (or a mix of both)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 lime

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the Sweetcorn, chilli and spring onion in a large bowl. Add a large pinch of white pepper and cayenne pepper and mix. Add a really good grinding of salt- they tend to taste quite bland without a lot of salt- and stir to combine. Add the flour and toss to coat all over. Gradually add the sparkling water until you have a thick batter- you may not need it all- it should be the consistency of yoghurt (with bits in it)

2. Cut the cod into bite size pieces. Mix together all the taco seasoning ingredients and mix together with a tablespoon of olive oil to make a paste. Mix into the cod with your hands and squeeze over a little lime juice. Wrap the fish in tin foil and bake for 10 minutes.

3. Place a large frying pan over a medium high heat and add a 1cm layer of sunflower oil. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot or your fritters will be crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle. Allow the oil to heat enough that the Sweetcorn fritter mixture sizzles when you add it.

Take small teaspoons of the mixture and add to the hot oil- do this in batches and don’t overcrowd the pan or the oil will cool down too much.Allow to fry for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Drain each fritter on kitchen paper.

4.Mix all the ingredients together for the avocado salsa in a bowl and squeeze over a generous amount of lime juice.

5. Mix all the ingredients for the chipotle sauce in a bowl, squeezing in a little lime juice according to your taste, and pour into a squeeze bottle for easy pouring.

6.Heat the corn tortillas in a dry frying pan over a high heat until they begin to brown but remain soft.

7. Top each tortilla with the avocado salsa, the taco seasoned cod and then squeeze over the chipotle sauce. Serve with the crispy Sweetcorn fritters on the side.

Tips

• Make the taco seasoning, chipotle sauce and the Sweetcorn fritter mix in advance (don’t add the sparkling water until you are about to fry them, though)
• If using raw prawns, toss with the seasoning mix and fry for a couple of minutes until pink.
• Cook the fish on the BBQ. Wrap in foil and cook for 8 minutes.
• Make it veggie: toss peppers, chickpeas and courgette in the taco seasoning and fry over a high heat for a couple of minutes until softened 
• Fish can very easily be substituted for chicken – you may need to cook the chicken a little longer