A couple of weeks ago we posted on Instagram one evening that we had lucked into a fresh Gulf Red Snapper and were making blackened fish tacos (with Zatarain’s Blackening Seasoning – hot damn).
The post sparked a bit of discussion that weekend evening and we promised a fish taco recipe here at some point in the next few weeks.
That recipe is coming, though we all know that fish tacos feature grilled or fried fish (a firm bodied, flaky fish) topped with a great slaw, a tropical salsa of some sort wrapped in a just-durable enough, preferably home-pressed corn tortilla.
And in She Who Must Be Obeyed’s world there’s a drizzle of a lime-cilantro crema as the finishing touch on said taco.
Fruit salsas are some of our favorite kick-your-meal-over-the-top things to craft because you can flex to use what’s in season and what you happen to have on hand. We still reach reflexly for Maribel’s Mango Salsa and the Drunken Mango Mint Salsa recipes we’ve posted before, though have a handful of other recipes incorporating peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines and cherries.
One of our all time favorite salsas for fish tacos is a grilled pineapple version, the pineapple grilled just until it’s marked, beginning to soften and caramelize. There are likely hundreds of pineapple salsa recipes out there – try this one with the habanero (start with one!) for a sharper, floral heat.
The onion and red bell add flavor and extend this a bit so there’s enough to dip a chip or two into and keep those salsa hogs who stand at the bowl eating it with a spoon from scarfing up more than their fair share.
Worth the time to fire the grill; you’ll make this again and again.
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced (1/2-inch thick or so)
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper, cored, seeded, finely chopped
1/2 – 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
2 – 3 fresh habanero chiles, see note above
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. kosher salt or to taste
1/4 cup mild olive oil
Prep. Clean and prepare the vegetables as noted in the list above; fire the grill if grilling the pineapple or preheat the broiler.
Make the pineapple magic. Very lightly oil the pineapple slices and grill until slightly softened, grill-marked and beginning to caramelize. (You can do this under the broiler, but save that for the middle of winter; it’s grill season.) Cool to room temperature and then dice (1/4 to 3/8 inch).
Stir it all together. Stir the pineapple into the rest of the ingredients, making note to start with one habanero (though you’ll want to use at least two). Salt to taste.
Serve at room temperature in your fish tacos, over grilled fish or shrimp, or over/ with just about anything you can imagine.
Enjoy.
