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And I am back with more citrus…
And tacos and all things healthy and delicious!!
I figured that some fresh, colorful food would be welcome today, seeing as a lot of us may have eaten one too many plates of nachos or chips full of queso yesterday. I don’t know, maybe that’s just my idea of Super Bowl Sunday though?
Either way, this is some seriously good food to start off the very first week of February.
Which by the way, happy February!! Still can’t believe we are already thru with Christmas, but hey, that’s life. It’s fast, brutal and beautiful, all at the same time. With February though, comes citrusy things, chocolate galore, lots of pretty white snow and hopefully, maybe, some flowers – if you are lucky. I am not much of a girly girl (hello, how could I be after growing up with five brothers?), but I will not lie, I love flowers. They always put a smile on my face.
Same goes with citrus. Please just give me all the pretty citrus and I will be happy till spring when the berries and rhubarb start to roll in. The other day I wanted SO bad to use these pretty blood oranges that my dad found that I actually considered combining them with chocolate…but then I didn’t because as much as I love chocolate and blood oranges, I don’t really like them together. So I just made chocolate chip pancakes, ate the oranges as a snack and called it a day.
Sorry, that was random. I am in a random Monday mood today. It happens.
So lets discuss these Cuban fish tacos with citrus mango slaw. I know they may seem sort of summery and all, but these are all about winter and winter citrus. Plus some cuban flavors and a little Mexican Crema because, YUM.
I was all ready to use Mahi Mahi for these tacos, but then I found a frozen salmon fillet in my freezer and I had to use that. It just looked so pink and pretty and it meant I didn’t have to go to the store, so that just pretty much decided everything for me. You can totally use whatever your favorite fish is though. Tuna, shrimp and mahi mahi would all be equally awesome. It’s really about the marinade. It’s this orange, lime, cilantro combo that I have been craving ever since I made these Cuban Chicken Bowls. So many perfect fresh flavors and it’s just a bonus that we can use the in season winter citrus.
Well you know me, I could not possibly simply leave these tacos alone, I had to go and add some salsa or slaw, I didn’t know what to call it since I added a little red cabbage to the mix, but whatever you call it, it’s good stuff, full of grapefruit, cara cara and blood oranges. Oh, and a little mango because I can’t do cuban without some mango.
And then, the crema. It’s not really a traditional crema because it’s a mix of cream cheese and crema, but it’s awesome with fish. For some reason the very first fish taco I ever made, I decided to spread cream cheese along the bottom of the shell and ever since I always want cream cheese with my fish tacos. It may sound odd, but just try it! I promise it so good.
And that’s pretty much it. These are super quick and easy to make…which means dinner sometime this week, right?
Cuban Fish Tacos with Citrus Mango Slaw + Chipotle Lime Crema.
Ingredients
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
Citrus Mango Slaw
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 cara orange or blood orange
- 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
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- juice of 1/2 a lime
- salt and pepper, to taste
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 9x13 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 cara cara orange (or blood orange), but only remove the inside membrane if desired. Add the mango, jalapeno, green onions, cilantro and lime juice. Taste and season with salt.
- 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. 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. Sprinkle with cojita cheese if desired. Happy tacoing!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
For sure.
Just made this. Used salmon and shrimp combo. It was absolutely delicious. Did not make the crema part. But no one felt like anything was lacking. Flavors were fresh and bursting with citrus. Broiled the fish and shrimp in the oven. Came out perfect.
SO happy loved it! THANKS!
I was just perusing pinterest for fish tacos and this one stood out! Love the fish selection and that you used fruit. I do a lot of fishing and end up with an excess of fresh fish come spring/summer/fall. Fish tacos are one of my favorite ways to make something interesting after 10 fish recipes. I am now inspired to taco-ize some fish:)
Made these for dinner with chicken instead of fish. Excellent flavors, perfect for a quick summer dinner. Thanks for the great recipe!
So happy you loved it! THANKS!
Made this fabulous recipe for dinner tonight. My family loved it & my very picky 13 year old ate 3 tacos! She’s asked for me to make the recipe again. Thank you for that!
So excited you all loved it! THANKS!
I cannot wait to try these. On my way to the fish market NOW.
Hope you love them! THANKS!!
Let me tell you that these taco’s were a total hit at my house. The citrus slaw
was something I didn’t think would work, but it was fantastic. This will be a regular recipe at my house !!
SO happy you loved them!! THANKS!!
Love the recipe, looks great– But your photos seem to show avocado, and it’s not on the ingredient list?
Thanks Scott!! I just forgot the avocado, sorry about that. It is in the recipe! 🙂
this look so delicious. can’t wait to make it. thanks!
Thanks!
These look absolutely fabulous. I love love love the citrus in these tacos! Pinned!
Thanks Erica!!
YUM! I just bought a big bag of blood oranges, so this will be perfect! Thanks for another great recipe. 🙂
Oh so perfect!! Thanks Cody!
Those tacos look unbelievable!
Thank you!
This looks incredible! Love the freshness of the citrus with the creamy sauce!
Thanks Christina!
These flavors are so bright and delicious! Plus all those lovely citrus flavors, you really know how to make an amazing taco 🙂 !
Thank you so much, Nik!! Hope you are having a great week! 🙂
I made it tonight using Sea Bass. It was delicious!!
I bet sea bass was awesome! So happy you loved this, thanks!!
These tacos look so, so good. I love all the colors! Will you come make me dinner? 😉
Thanks Laura!! 🙂