Wow. I’m officially impressed with myself (and my family). We tried ANOTHER new recipe: Fish Tacos with Tomato and Orange Salsa from William Sonoma’s Essentials of Healthy Cooking cookbook. While I was flipping through cookbooks for inspiration yesterday afternoon, I came across this recipe. We were planning on grilling fish (every time I come home from school I have to have fish, because there is absolutely no way in the world I would ever eat the mystery fish from the dining hall), but I am slightly sick of the mango salsa we always turn to.
I originally just proposed making the tomato and orange salsa and not the actual tacos, but my mom actually said we should just make the whole shebang. That was a jaw-dropper. Maybe the pictures in the cookbook inspired her; she told me to scan them and use them for my blog.
The recipe was simple, fast, and very healthy. The hardest part was picking out the tiny, mostly invisible bones when I flaked the fish. The verdict? I’d say three out of four stars. Literally. My mom, my dad, and I all really liked them, but my brother essentially refrained from commenting. Still, I would make them again.
Fish Tacos with Tomato and Orange Salsa
From: William Sonoma’s Essentials of Healthy Cooking
Servings: 4 tacos
Notes: We double the recipe but had some left over. We also grilled the fish on the BBQ, and it turned out great.
½ lb. salmon fillet (NOT farmed, of course)
kosher and freshly ground pepper
½ cup diced, peeled English (hothouse) cucumber
2 tbls. thinly sliced green (spring) onion
½-1 tsp. minced jalapeno chile, or to taste
½ tsp. grated orange zest
3 tbls. fresh lime juice
For the Tomato Orange Salsa
1 large naval orange
1 tomato
2 tbls. finely chopped fresh cilantro
½-1 teaspoon minced jalapeno chile, or to taste
½ tsp. grated orange zest
1 tbls. fresh lime juice
kosher salt
4 soft, fresh white-or yellow-corn tortillas
1 cup loosely packed thin-chiffonade-cut romaine lettuce, outer leaves only
Preheat the BROILER (GRILL), or preheat the OVEN to 425°F. Remove the skin from the salmon. Season the fish lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.
BY BROILER: Place the salmon on a broiler pan and slip it in the broiler about 3 inches from the heat source. Broil (grill), turning once, until the salmon is slightly translucent in the very center at the thickest part, about 4 minutes per side.
BY OVEN: Place the salmon in a baking pan in the oven and bake until slightly translucent in the very center at the thickest part, allowing slightly less than 10 minutes per inch of thickness.
Transfer the salmon to a plate and let cool to room temperature. (The fish will continue to cook away from the heat until opaque.) Flake into a large bowl, discarding any errant bones.
Add the cucumber, green onion, jalapeno, orange zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the fish. Sprinkle with the lime juice and toss lightly to combine.
To make the salsa, cut a thick slice off the top and the bottom of the orange to reveal the flesh. Stand the orange upright on a cutting board. Following the contour of the fruit and rotating it with each cut, slice downward to remove the peel, pith, and membrane. Holding the fruit over a bowl, cut along each side of the membrane between the sections, letting each freed section drop into the bowl. Cut the sections into bite-sized pieces and return them to the bowl.
Cut the tomato into ½ inch dice. Add the tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, orange zest, lime juice, and ½ teaspoon salt to the bowl holding the orange. Stir gently to combine.
To assemble the tacos, set each tortilla on a work surface. Place some lettuce on the tortilla, dividing it evenly. Add about ¼ cup of the salmon mixture to each tortilla, then top with 2 rounded tablespoons of the salsa. Fold or roll each tortilla, arrange on a platter and serve.
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