Fish Tacos with Tomatillo and Avocado Sauce
Photography Josh Griggs.
Tender pieces of fish are wrapped up with crispy lettuce, creamy avocado and spicy jalapeños then drizzled with a zesty tomatillo sauce. Easy and delicious.
Makes: 4
INGREDIENTS
Fish
2 teaspoons red annatto (achiote) (see Cook’s note)
¼–½ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon each ground cumin and finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon each apple cider vinegar, tomato paste and olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
sea salt and ground pepper
350 grams firm fish fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
To cook and assemble
olive oil for cooking
4 medium flour tortillas, warmed
shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, pickled jalapeños, coriander
½ small red onion, thinly sliced and tossed with 2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar
Tomatillo and Avocado Sauce (see recipe below)
METHOD
Fish: Stir together all the ingredients, except the fish, in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the fish and toss to combine.
To cook and assemble:Heat a little oil in a sauté pan and cook the fish until golden and just cooked. Drain on kitchen towels.
Layer up the tortillas with lettuce, fish, avocado, pickled onion, jalapeños and coriander. Drizzle with the tomatillo sauce. Serve immediately.
Cook’s note: Red annatto has a mild peppery flavour and is a spice and colouring agent extracted from the seeds of the evergreen Bixa orellana shrub. It can be found as a paste or as achiote oil at good food stores.
Tomatillo and Avocado Sauce
INGREDIENTS
½ cup drained and chopped tinned tomatillos (see Cook’s note)
½ packed cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 avocado, peeled
2 tablespoons lime juice
sea salt and ground pepper
METHOD
Place all the ingredients in a food processor, season with salt and pepper and process until smooth.
Cook’s note: Tomatillos are also called tomate verde in Mexico, which means green tomato, and are a staple in Mexican cooking. The fruit of the tomatillo is green, about the size of a large cherry tomato, and grows inside a papery husk.
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126
We start by sharing what’s on the dish team’s radar, what we’re watching, listening to and reading. Harry Butterfield puts a twist on his Nonna’s agnolotti, Malissa Fedele reminds us of the importance of fibre, and Phoebe Holden fulfils a long-held dream, sitting down with Yotam Ottolenghi. Autumn is an abundant time, we make the most with pumpkin, kūmara, cabbage, cauliflower, feijoas, apples and pears. We’re dishing up dinners for two, including a Chicken Dumpling Lasagne, alongside easy weeknight meals. We honour our mums, revisit timeless classics, and add a little baking challenge. This issue, we encourage you to slow down, to enjoy writing your shopping list, and spending time in the kitchen. Because even when life feels relentless, there’s always space to share something delicious.