Mahi Tacos With Fruit Salsa And A Lime And Cumin Sour Cream Sauce.

On the menu today, we have seared mahi bites on a puffy taco with a fruit salsa.

 Youngest Hawthorne went deep-sea fishing last week and, being the Great White Hunter/Fisherman that he is, came home with LOTS of mahi mahi.

Photo and fish by
Youngest Hawthorne.
Truly, a beautiful fish.

 Previously, I made fried mahi bites.

Sweet, tender meat
with a crisp, light coating.
Doesn't get much better than this.

Oh wait...
It does!

Let's cook seared mahi mahi, tuck it inside a puffy taco,

and spoon on a fruit salsa and a seasoned sour cream sauce.

First, the puffy tacos.

I'm using regular flour tortillas here.

The secret is in the HEAT!

Pour about 1/8 - 1/4 inch of peanut oil in your pan

and crank it up to about 400° - 450°.

Yes.  You read that correctly.

The hotter the better.

Peanut oil is my go-to oil.  Neutral flavor and high smoke point.

Gently and ever-so-carefully, slide the tortilla into the hot oil.

And watch.

The air inside is trapped so it blows up like a balloon.

Turn over and brown the other side.

Then turn back over and brown any parts you might have missed.

 

You sort of roll the tortilla around in the hot oil.

And drain.

And there you have puffy tacos!

I'm going to lightly toss the mahi bites in seasoned flour,

then sear them in hot oil.

For the seasoned coating:

Mix together:

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a container, add the mahi pieces (about 1-inch cuts),

and toss to evenly coat.

Film a skillet with oil and heat to 350° - 375°.

Working in batches, add in the pieces one at a time so as not to drastically decrease the oil temperature.

And don't crowd the pan!

Cook about 1 minute on each side.

Remove from pan and drain.

Sort of fold the puffy tacos, add the fish bits, drizzle with the sour cream sauce,

and spoon on the fruit salsa.

Don't forget the lemon!

Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup sour cream

1 inch cube ginger

juice and zest of 1/2 lime

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

fresh chopped cilantro, to taste

For the ginger, I peel it, slice it, then run it through a garlic press, using all the juice, and the first scrapings of the fresh pulp.  The drier pulp I discard.

Mix all ingredients.

If you're not a fan of the cilantro, use parsley.

Mint would go nicely with this also.

Rosie's Fruit Salsa

2 kiwis, peeled and finely chopped

equal amount of fresh chopped pineapple (OK, you can use canned if you must.)

2 TB sweet red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 TB minced jalapeño

1 TB chopped red onion

juice and zest of 1/2 lime

Mix all ingredients.

As for the jalapeño heat factor, you can make this as hot as you like.

The heat is in the white ribs and seeds.  If you don't want it so hot, avoid these parts and just use the green. 

 Rosie Tip:  If you don't grow your own jalapeños and are picking them out of the produce department, here's a tip on finding hot peppers:  Don't get a smooth, solid green pepper.  Look for the white, wrinkly lines on the surface of the pepper.  That means it's HOT!

I love mahi!

Enjoy!