Blackened Cod Tacos, Finally a fish meal kids are excited to eat

It’s my goal to learn to cook more fish and try new recipes. It seems pretty unanimous that eating more fish is healthy. The problem with that is that my family doesn’t love fish. There is always a silent groan whenever I announce there is fish on the menu. But we all love taco Tuesday.

I discovered a blackened fish tacos recipe that everyone likes, even if they don’t really like fish. I was inspired by this Delicious Bites recipe, but with a spicier slaw.

This is an easy recipe, even though it has lots of ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Cod fish fillets (thinner filets are better)
• 2 TB blackened seafood spice
• 2 TB avocado oil (better than olive oil for high temperatures)
• corn tortillas
• Cabbage mix 2 cups
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 2 TB Mayonaise
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 limes
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

It works best if you make the avocado dip and the spicy slaw ahead of cooking the fish. The blackened fish is best served right after it’s cooked. In my somewhat limited experience, I’ve found fish doesn’t make great leftovers.

Avocado Dip – In a small bowl mix together one ripened avocado mashed, sour cream, the juice of one lime and 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro. Salt to taste and refrigerate. This can be done easily by hand without using a food processor.

Spicy Slaw – In a medium bowl combine 2 cups of thinly sliced cabbage, sliced onion, lime juice, mayonnaise, cumin, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. If your family doesn’t like mayo, you could make the slaw with an oil base like avocado oil.

My family doesn’t like mayo, but they didn’t even notice it. I used a precut bag of mixed green cabbage and red cabbage, but you can use any kind of cabbage. You can adjust the spice mixture to your tolerance level. If you like it less spicy you can use chili powder instead of cayenne.

Cook Fish – Lay the fish out on a plate and pat dry with a paper towel. Generously coat both sides of the fish with the blackened seasoning. Heat a cast iron skillet to medium heat with avocado oil. I like to cook with healthy fats like olive oil and avocado oil vs vegetable oil. Read more about vegetable oil here.

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The cast iron gives the fish a dark crispy skin. You don’t have to have cast iron, any pan that can get hot enough to fry will work. Using a non-stick skillet is the easiest for cleanup, but I don’t like to brown in my non-stick. The crust doesn’t get as crisp.

I had to work in two batches because I wasn’t using a large skillet. You may need to add oil in between batches. Cook the fish for approximately 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. You know the fish is finished when the temperature inside is between 130 and 140 degrees. I really like to use a meat thermometer when I cook because it takes all the guesswork out of fish, chicken and meat. I have several of this one.

When the fish is cooked transfer cod to a plate. Break fish into chunks and top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

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While the fish cooks, you can warm tortillas. We like corn tortillas because we try to eat gluten-free, but these tacos would be just as good with flour.

Assemble Tacos – I’ve found over the years that if you eat a lot of tacos, these taco holders making serving soft tacos so much easier.

Add a scoop of fish to your tacos shells, top with avocado cream and crunchy slaw. Our favorite toppings for tacos wouldn’t be complete without jalapenos and lime wedges. You can also serve it with some cojita cheese. I don’t think fish tacos should have cheese, but that’s just a personal preference.

Before you go, you might like this easy Mole recipe or carne asada bowls, a family dish you can build to suit any kind of diet.