Name: Fish Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 38 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 600 g firm white fish; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp chipotle powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1/4 head white cabbage; 1/2 red onion; a large handful coriander; 2 tbsp lime juice; 3 tbsp soured cream; 1/2 tsp salt; 12 corn tortillas; to taste hot sauce

600 g

1 Rub all over and leave 10 minutes 12m

2 Sear 2 minutes a side, then flake into large pieces 8m Firm white fish takes almost no time. Pull it while the centre is just opaque.

4 Fill warm tortillas and eat straight away 5m

2 tsp

1 tsp

1 tbsp

1/4 head

3 Toss just before serving 8m Dress at the last moment — salt draws water out and the slaw goes limp in twenty minutes.

1/2

a large handful

2 tbsp

3 tbsp

1/2 tsp

to taste

Dress at the table

Cabbage stays crisp because its cells are turgid with water. Salt and acid both pull that water out by osmosis, and within about twenty minutes you have a wet, collapsed slaw. Mix the dressing ahead by all means, but combine it with the cabbage as people sit down.

Notes

Thick pieces of fish, not thin fillets. Thin fish overcooks before it browns.
Warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame for fifteen seconds a side. A microwave makes them chewy.
Two tortillas per taco is not indulgence, it is structural.

Method

Rub all over and leave 10 minutes

Sear 2 minutes a side, then flake into large pieces

Toss just before serving

Fill warm tortillas and eat straight away

Dress at the table

Notes