Ensenada Fish Tacos

For many years the beaches on the north coast of Cornwall were patrolled by using Australian lifeguards, firstly because that they had the surf life-saving abilities that have been strange to the locals. For me, this intended many summers of friendship with first-rate Australians, all of whom regarded to be sunny and optimistic. Well, you would be, wouldn’t you, with summertime in Cornwall and lots of locals finding you irresistible? One such lifeguard changed into Rudi, who used to go back yr after 12 months. Everyone turned into extraordinarily keen on him – so much in order that we filmed a bit sequence approximately a journey he’d made to Ensenada on the Baja California coast, where they made terrific fish tacos. We cooked a few on the seaside in Cornwall by means of the lifeguard hut, and Rudi took Chalky, my Jack Russell, out for a bit surfing lesson. Sadly, whilst returned in Australia 5 years later, Rudi died of cancer and I continually thought that at some point I’d get to Ensenada and locate the tacos.

Ingredients

12 x 15cm	corn tortillas
600g	cod fillet
100g	plain flour, seasoned with a pinch of salt and 6 turns black peppermill
1 ltr	corn or vegetable oil
	For the batter:
200g	plain flour
¼ tsp	salt
½ tsp	baking powder
275ml	ice-cold beer
	For the toppings:
¼	small white cabbage, finely shredded
1	avocado, stoned, peeled and diced
	Hot chilli sauce, such as Cholula or Huichol
	For the chipotle crema:
2	Chipotles en adobo
3 tbsp	mayonnaise
3 tbsp	soured cream
	Juice of ½ lime
	For the pico de gallo salsa:
2	large tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
½	onion, finely chopped
1 handful	of coriander, chopped
1	green serrano or jalapeño chilli, finely chopped
¼ tsp	salt
	Juice of ½ – 1 lime

Essential kit

You will need a balloon whisk.

Instructions

Warm the tortillas in a dry frying pan, in a microwave or in the oven (page 306). Get your toppings – shredded cabbage, diced avocado, and hot chilli sauce – ready. Mix the ingredients for the crema and set aside.

To make the pico de gallo salsa, mix all the ingredients in a bowl, starting with the juice of half a lime and adding more to taste if desired.

To make the batter, sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a roomy bowl. Using a balloon whisk, incorporate the beer until you have a smooth batter. Set aside.

Cut the fish into fingers about 1cm thick. Heat the oil in a large pan to 190°C. Dip a few pieces of fish into the seasoned flour, shake off the excess, then dip them into the batter. Fry for 2–2½ minutes until crisp and golden. Repeat until you’ve cooked all the fish, draining each batch briefly on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Serve the fish immediately in warm tortillas, with the toppings on the table for guests to help themselves.