Fish Tacos

Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

So much better in theory than in practice. Don't get me wrong, they were good, but not as delicious as I was hoping. I followed the general recipe found here by Mabcat, but made a few tweaks of my own. Here's what I did (I've indicated my changes in green:

• Marinade
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sweet and spicy tabasco sauce
• 1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into chunks

• Dressing
• 1 (8 ounce) container light sour cream
• 2  tablespoons adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
• 1 persian cucumber diced
• salt and pepper to taste

• Toppings
• 1 (10 ounce) package tortillas
• 3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• pre-shredded lettuce
• 2 limes, cut in wedges

Basically, I didn't have time to marinate the fish the 6 hours called for in the recipe, so I just brushed it on top like a glaze. I broiled the fish instead of grilling it (because our grill is out of commission). I actually liked the way the fish tasted as is and would definitely make it like that again. The honey caramelized slightly on the top and was delicious.

It was the sauce I was not a fan of. I liked the addition of the cucumbers, as it added some crunch to the taco and it played well with the other flavors, but I feel like I didn't get enough flavor from this sauce. I know the original recipe called for 1/2 cup of the adobo sauce but that stuff is too spicy for me and I could only handle the 2 tablespoons worth of heat. I also felt like the was something missing in the flavor department. Like it was too blah for me. I think it could have done with some more lime and another flavor component, like garlic or onion to punch up the other flavors.

Overall, the meal was good (although next time I might use cod instead of tilapia) but sort of unsatisfying. I hate it when I have a fail in the kitchen, but thought I might see if anyone out there had an idea on how to fix the sauce without it burning my mouth (and my tummy) to shreds.

(I would still recommend trying the fish with the marinade as a glaze. Served with lemon risotto and some asparagus? Ummm, heck yes.)