16 Baja Fish Tacos

Wow. That's all I can say about these. WOW. We had these at the reunion (did I mention we did a LOT of cooking??) These are seriously, and I mean REALLY the best fish tacos I've ever had. The coriander is essential, and makes the entire dish. I used Mahi-Mahi and large shrimp.

For 2 people, you'll need:

1.5 lbs fish filets like tilapia, red snapper, mahi-mahi or other white fish and/or large shrimp
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
corn tortillas
lime-cilantro crema (recipe at the bottom)

Preheat oven to 425. Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with non-stick spray.

First, either crush the coriander with a mortar and pestle or run it through a spice grinder. This smells so, so good. It's lemony. It's amazing how different the coriander seeds are to the cilantro leaves it produces!

Combine all spices in a small bow and mix well.

Pat fish filets dry and sprinkle evenly with the spice mixture, and lay flat on the baking sheet.

Next, I tossed some large shrimp with the remainder of the spice mixture.

Arrange everything on the baking sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes, or until it's opaque in the middle and flakes easily.

My Mahi-Mahi needed a little longer to bake, so I pulled the shrimp out and set aside in a bowl after about 7 minutes.

While fish is cooking, toast the corn tortillas in a small skillet, or carefully over a gas flame. Cover with a tea towel and keep warm. Watch the tortillas carefully - my last one actually caught fire! Whoops.

Place cooked fish in a bowl and and break up into large pieces. Look at the amazing red hue.

Now here's the best part. Assemble tacos and top with a squeeze of fresh lime, and crema.

Suggested toppings:
shredded cabbage or lettuce
fresh cilantro
fresh pico de gallo
shredded Mexican blend cheeses
diced onion
fresh lime juice

I don't care if cheese and fish is a cardinal sin. Don't care. It's really good, and besides, my daughter loves anything with cheese.

Look at this!!

I could eat all of these by myself!

These were so amazing that I made them again the next night, except with ribeye steak. I made 5 times the amount of spice blend and I'm keeping it in a container in my spice pantry. I sprinkled the ribeye all over with the spices before searing the entire steak to medium, and after a rest I sliced into strips and assembled the tacos as shown above.

For the Lime-Cilantro Crema:
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
3 tbls mayonnaise
3 tbls sour cream
1 tsp lime zest
1.5 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 clove of garlic, minced finely

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. I store the entire batch in a handy squeeze bottle. Seriously. Good.