Arctic Char Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are currently everywhere it seems. They are all the rage. I don’t know who started it but, Bravo! Bravo indeed. So I decided, like the rest of the world, to jump on the fish taco bandwagon. Tacos growing up seemed limited to only ground beef and crunchy corn tortilla shells in the yellow El Paso box. Iranian Americans in the early 90’s were not that versed in Tex-Mex unfortunately, at least my parents weren’t. Either way, “Taco Night” always ruled, who doesn’t love tacos? Wait, this is the internet, don’t answer that.

Now fish tacos, that is something I would’ve never imagined of or seen in my household growing up. Fish tacos are great, they are light but satisfying too. They also take no time to make, so that pushes them even higher on why they are awesome.

I decided to use Arctic Char for these fish tacos. You may go ahead and ask, “What in God’s name is Arctic Char? Is it from ANTARCTICA OR SOMETHING?!” Well, it is commonly found in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. It’s a cold water fish (as the name suggests) and it’s in the Salmon family. I would compare its flavor to a more mild flavored Salmon. I like it for grilling, it’s a firm fish that holds well. It also doesn’t have too much of a fishy flavor, which always works for me.

I decided to make a quick homemade guacamole, and because I was out of sour cream I had to make my own fake sour cream. Also I was out of shredded cheese (yeah I know, the fridge was REALLY empty). So I just diced some sliced cheddar that I had (it’s all the same in my belly folks, Mr. Stomach is an equal opportunity consumer)

Recipe (Makes up to 6 Tacos)

2 Arctic Char Filets

6 Flour Tortillas

2 Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Slices

2 Tbsp. of Full Fat Greek Yogurt (Fage is my favorite)

1/2 Tbsp. of Mayo

1 Tsp. of Olive Oil

1 Avocado

1/2 of a Tomato (de-seeded)

2 Tbsp. Lime Juice

2 Tbsp. of Cumin

1 Tbsp. of Parsley Flakes

1 Tsp. of Salt

1 Tsp. of Pepper

Cooking Spray

First make your guacamole, I went with a simple version. I crushed the avocado and tomato together along with 1 Tbsp. of the lime juice and 1 Tbsp. of the Cumin. There are way fancier versions, but I was tired and had just gotten home.

Now your sour cream sauce, mix the mayo and greek yogurt together with the olive oil. And you are all set. Or, of course, use actual sour cream if you have it on hand.

Put 1 Tbsp. of the cumin, parsley flakes, salt, pepper, and the lime juice on your fish. Make sure the fish is coated well.

Get your grill nice and hot, a hot grill is crucial to your fish not sticking to everything. Then once your grill is hot, spray some of the cooking spray on the grates, this will make some flames come up for a little bit, but it’ll make sure nothing sticks.

Put the fish on the grill, skin side down. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, it’s okay if the skin burns. You are going to remove it anyway prior to plating. Once your fish is a nice brownish/cream color all over, you can remove it from the grill. This should take between 10-15 minutes total.

Now that all your main ingredients are ready, get your tortillas ready. Brush some olive oil onto your tortilla. Heat up your pan, and once it’s hot add the tortilla. It should puff up after about 30 seconds, make sure you don’t burn the bread. The goal is to just to make it pillowy and soft.

Slice your cheddar slices, or use shredded cheese obviously if you have it.

And assemble your taco however you like.

Enjoy!