Cuban Fish Tacos with Citrus Mango Slaw + Chipotle Lime Crema
First recipe challenge and I went with the longest name ever . . . don’t hold me to that, but it’s still pretty long. Click on the link above and you’ll see where this recipe was borrowed (adapted?). However, I’ll lay out what we followed along with a couple changes we made.
The Line-up (ingredients – not much changed from the original)
CUBAN FISH
1 pound skin on mahi mahi or salmon
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 cloves garlic
2 green onions
1/4 teaspoon paprika and cumin
1 teaspoon salt + pepper
corn or flour tortillas warmed (we did the corn tortillas but probably would have enjoyed the flour ones more)
CITRUS MANGO SLAW
1 grapefruit
1 cara orange or blood orange
(no fun oranges, we rolled with a basic navel one)
1 mango sliced or diced
1 jalapeno seeded + chopped
1/3 cup cilantro chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup red cabbage shredded
salt to taste
CHIPOTLE CREMA
4 ounces cream cheese softened
1/4 cup Crema or mayo
2 in canned chipotle chilies adobo finely chopped
(instead of this, we used green chiles and adobo seasoning)
2 tablespoons buttermilk
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt and pepper to taste
Game Plan (Instructions)
Add the olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, green onions, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until chunky smooth. Place the fish in a 9×13 inch baking dish, pour the marinade over the fish. Allow the fish to sit in the marinade while you prepare the rest of the meal, at least 15 minutes. Do not let the fish sit longer than four hours in the marinade.
To make the slaw/salsa, cut off the peel and the white pith from all around the grapefruit. Working over a small bowl, use the knife to cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments into the bowl. Squeeze the juice from the membranes into the bowl. Remove the grapefruit segments from the bowl and cut into bite size pieces; return to the bowl. Now do the same with the orange, but only remove the inside membrane if desired. Add the mango, jalapeno, green onions, cilantro and lime juice. Taste and season with salt. We went ahead and mixed in the shredded red cabbage here.
To make the crema, mix together the cream cheese, crema Mexicana (or mayo), chipotle chilies, lime juice, buttermilk and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
When ready to cook the fish, heat a grill pan or cast iron skillet over medium high heat (may also use an outdoor grill). Once hot, add the fish, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes, brushing the fish with the marinade as it cooks. Flip and cook until your desired doneness. Don’t forget to remove the skin.
To serve, dice the fish into pieces. Warm the tortillas and fill with fish. Top with slaw, crema and shredded red cabbage (again, we actually added this already to the slaw itself). Sprinkle with cojita cheese if desired.
