Fish Tacos with a mountain of toppings and TWO amazing sauces – A garlic Mexican crema and a hot green chilli salsa!
Oh how I love this recipe!
My inspiration for this comes from our family holiday to California a couple of years ago. Me, Chris, the kids and my folks spent 16 days travelling from San Francisco down to San Diego.
It really was a dream holiday with stops in Carmel, Morro Bay, Santa Monica, Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Disney of course. We also got to spend time with family that we have over there, and Chris got to drive this baby for a week too:
Chris and I were spoiled rotten at our stop in Morro Bay, where my parents took the kids off with them, so Chris and I could have a few days to ourselves.
If you’ve never been to Morro Bay, it’s a quiet, peaceful place, with the silence only disturbed by the barking of the sea lions. We had a gorgeous hotel, with a balcony right over the water, and the sea lions would come right up to water’s edge to say hello.
Just a short stroll away from our hotel was Giovanni’s fish market and café where they sold the most beautiful fresh fish I’ve ever had.
We ate there three times in the three days we stayed – we actually had to make up additional meal-times so we could fit in all the eating we wanted to do…….
My absolute favourite were the fish tacos with salsa verde and Mexican crema.
We’d sit outside, looking out at Morro rock with the warm sea breeze washing over us. A perfect location, with my gorgeous husband and amazing food. Total bliss!
As soon as we got home I began experimenting until I managed to recreate the recipe, and I’ve been making it ever since.
Halibut isn’t readily available in the supermarkets where I live in the UK, so if I haven’t had a chance to make a special trip to the fishmongers, I’ll make this version sea bass. Lemon sole, cod and even haddock (not the smoked haddock though) all work really well too.
For these Fish Tacos, the fish needs to be pan-fried in butter to get that slightly golden-brown exterior with a soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture.
It’s served on warm, soft tacos or flatbreads with some crunchy cabbage, red onion, fresh juicy tomatoes and some creamy, shredded cheddar cheese.
As drool-worthy as that sounds already, we’re not stopping there. The tacos are then drizzled with TWO extra toppings:
A tongue-tingling salsa verde made with lots of fresh coriander and green chillies.
And a garlicky, creamy sauce to cool the mouth back down again after that hit of chilli.
I can’t believe that I’ve never put this on the blog before. I’m so sorry – I feel like I’ve completely let you down 😉
I really hope you give them a try – absolutely one of my favourite fish meals ever!
If you are looking for a healthier option to the normal Tacos then why not try my delicious, packed full of flavour Taco Bowl.
The Fish Taco Recipe:
Morro Bay Fish Tacos
Ingredients
Mexican Crema:
- 4 tbsp soured cream
- 4 tbsp double/heavy cream
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- 1 small clove garlic peeled and minced
- juice of ¼ of a lime
- Good pinch of salt
Salsa Verde:
- 2 packed cups of fresh coriander
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- 5 spring onions/scallions roughly chopped
- 2 green chillies roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled and roughly sliced
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- juice of ½ a lime
- pinch of salt and pepper
Tacos:
- 4 soft white tortillas or flatbreads
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 seabass fillets – with the skin on or swap for your favourite white fish
- pinch of salt and pepper
- ½ of a sweetheart cabbage sliced thinly
- ½ a red onion peeled and sliced
- 8 cherry tomatoes sliced into quarters
- ½ a cup of grated cheddar cheese
To Serve:
- 1 red chilli sliced
- handful of fresh coriander
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Make the crema first by mixing the soured cream and double/heavy cream in a small bowl, then add in the rest of the ingredients and mix. Test and add a little more salt if needed. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed (you can make this a few hours ahead).4 tbsp soured cream, 4 tbsp double/heavy cream, 2 tbsp chopped coriander, 1 small clove garlic, juice of ¼ of a lime, Good pinch of salt
- Make the salsa verde by placing the coriander, basil, spring onions/scallions, chilies, and garlic in a food chopper/blender. Give it a couple of quick pulses until the garlic has been thoroughly chopped. Add in the fish sauce, lime juice, salt, and pepper, and give another quick pulse. Have a taste, it should be fresh, a bit salty, and very hot. Add a little more lime and/or salt if needed. Spoon the salsa verde into a bowl, cover with clingfilm, and refrigerated until needed (you can make this a few hours ahead).2 packed cups of fresh coriander, 10 fresh basil leaves, 5 spring onions/scallions, 2 green chillies, 1 clove garlic, 2 tsp fish sauce, juice of ½ a lime, pinch of salt and pepper
- When you’re ready to prepare the fish tacos, wrap the tortillas in some foil (with a piece of foil in between each tortilla to stop them sticking together) and place in the oven on very low.4 soft white tortillas
- Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Sprinkle the fish fillets with a pinch of salt and pepper and place in the frying pan skin side down. Cook on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the skin starts to brown and then turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes. At this point you can peel the skin off the fish. I like to leave the skin on during cooking as it keeps the fish moist and tender.1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 4 seabass fillets – with the skin on, pinch of salt and pepper
- Turn the heat off and leave the fish in the pan.
- Take the tortillas out of the oven and place on a plate. Break up the fish and distribute between the tortillas. Top with the cabbage, red onion, tomatoes and finally the cheese. Drizzle a little of the crema and salsa verde on top, then sprinkle on a little chopped coriander and some chopped red chillies.1/2 of a sweetheart cabbage, 1/2 a red onion, 8 cherry tomatoes, ½ a cup of grated cheddar cheese, 1 red chilli, handful of fresh coriander
- Serve with extra crema, salsa and wedges of lime.Lime wedges
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m always looking for a new way to eat fish, just found this, think I going to be popular tonight.
I have been craving fish tacos for sometime now and these look so good!! That salsa verde on top!! Yumm.
Thanks Ami 🙂