Give your customers a taste of summer in a taco! These crispy-fresh Baja-Style Fish Tacos made with tilapia and accented with charred pineapple and chipotle sauce for a spicy-sweet kick.
Makes 4 servings
Recipe by Mexican food cook, caterer and tequila expert MariCarmen Ortiz Conway, St Louis, Missouri; recipe and photo courtesy of Familia Kitchen
1 c. vegetable oil for frying, plus 1 Tbsp
4 to 5 tilapia fillets, cut into 1-inch strips
½ t. black pepper, freshly ground
1 t. garlic salt*
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1 c. breadcrumbs
1 fresh pineapple, sliced into ½-nch rings or chunks
4 flour tortillas
⅓ c. cilantro, fresh, chopped
Baja Chipotle Sauce (recipe below)
Lay your tilapia filets on a plate or sheet tray. Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper on both sides of each piece of fish. Lightly beat the 2 eggs with a fork. Add the milk into the same bowl and lightly beat into the eggs. Scoop the breadcrumbs on a plate. Dip each fish strip into the egg-milk mixture and dip each side in the breadcrumbs. Set aside.
Add the oil to a pan and heat until hot. With tongs, place fish in the oil. Fry until light golden brown on each side. Place the fish on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the oil and set aside.
In a different pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, and heat to medium high. Caramelize the pineapple slices or chunks to an amber-brown, on both sides. Then make the Baja Chipotle Sauce.
The Baja Chipotle Sauce:
1 c. Mayonesa McCormick (Mexican mayonnaise, made with lime juice—the ingredient Ortiz’ says is secret to these fish tacos)
1 chipotle chile, or 2 if you want it spicier
¼ can tomato puree
Combine sauce ingredients in a blender; set aside.
To serve: Warm the flour tortillas on a hot pan. Place 2 or 3 crispy-breaded strips of the tilapia fish on each tortilla. Add 1 to 2 slices of grilled pineapple. Add as much of the creamy-spicy chipotle sauce as you’d like. Top with fresh cilantro.
* Sometimes Ortiz sprinkles 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon instead of garlic salt on the fish with the black pepper before breading.