Ingredients

Serves 4

Grilled Fish Tacos
1 fillet John Dory or white fish
Marinade:
¼ long red chilli stemmed, deseeded and finely diced
½ lime, juiced
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of finely chopped coriander
Mango & Bean Salsa:
½ mango diced
1/3 Jalapeño chilli stemmed, deseeded and finely diced
5 tbsp tinned cannellini beans drained
2 pinches of finely chopped coriander
Couple of squeezes of lime juice
Red Chilli Sauce:
2 cloves roasted garlic
3 long red chillies stemmed and deseeded
1 tin whole peeled tomatoes
¼ red onion
Pinch fresh coriander
½ cup chicken stock
½ tsp cumin powder
2 large pinches brown sugar
Pinch of salt
To serve:
2 handfuls chopped cos lettuce
1 Old El Paso soft taco kit or flour tortillas


Little Amigo Taquito
Shredded Beef:
500 g chuck steak trimmed and cubed
1 litre beef stock
1 tin whole peeled tomatoes
4 diced red chillies
Pinch cinnamon
1 roughly chopped onion
1½ tbsp cumin
Water if you need it
Salt & Pepper
To Serve:
1 Old El Paso Medium Salsa
1 pack of Old El Paso corn tortillas
Shredded lettuce

Method

Grilled Fish Tacos with Red Chilli Sauce & Mango Bean Salsa
My wife and I are both huge fans of Tacos, and of course in Mexico it is an institution! When we were last there, all along the Baja Coast we found vendors selling every variety of Taco you can imagine… one of my wife’s favourites was the Fish Taco. I thought up this healthy Taco dish with her in mind…

Marinate the Fish
1. Okay, first thing we need to do is marinate the fish. Check it for any bones and make sure the skin is removed (you can ask your fishmonger to do this for you). Lay it in a dish and keep in the fridge until needed.
2. Now we need to chop the chillies… We want a really fine dice (or Brunoise). If you don’t know how to do that then here we go…Get you long red chilli and cut the stem off, then cut it down the length so it opens up. Scoop out the seeds and white ribs inside the chilli then lay it down flat. Start cutting long thin strips until ¼ of the chilli is in long matchsticks… reserve the rest of your chilli for later. Place all of chilli matchsticks together and carefully dice into small cubes. Put into bowl.
3. Grab some coriander leaves and chop finely then place in bowl.
4. Add the olive oil and the lime juice to the bowl and mix together.
5. Pour over the fish, coasting well, cover and place into the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Make the Red Chilli Sauce
6. While the fish in marinating let’s make the red chilli sauce. First we need to roast the garlic. Grab a skillet and heat to high. Place on unpeeled garlic and cook until skin blackens. Remove from heat, peel and reserve.
7. Get out your blender and add garlic, roughly chopped chillies, tomatoes, red onion, coriander and chicken stock.
8. Blend together until pureed.
9. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve and press through with a spoon or plastic pastry scrapper.
10. Heat a saucepan to medium heat then and the add sauce so it sizzles. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer.
11. Add cumin, salt and brown sugar, seasoning till flavour is balanced. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Reserve.

Make the Mango & Bean Salsa
12. Almost there… so let’s make the salsa! Cut half a mango into half centimetre strips and then dice, ensuring you remove any skin.
13. Drain tin of beans and add 5 or so tablespoons to the diced mango. This amount may vary so it’s up to you!
14. Stem and deseed you Jalapeño and use the same method of chopping we used for the marinade to finely dice the chilli. Make sure there are no big chunks!  When you’re done add them to the mango.
15. Finely chop some coriander add to the bowl and squeeze the lime juice over the top. Mix and reserve.

Cook the Fish
16. Heat a grill to high temperature and add the fish. Make sure the fish is cooked through but not over cooked, mine took about 4-5 minutes but this will vary on your fillet size. Cook until ready and remove from heat and cover with foil.

Finishing Off
17. Heat a pan and add the Old El Paso soft tacos or flour tortillas. These won’t take too long to cook so dry fry them for about 30 – 40 seconds a side.
18. Now let’s put this taco together. On the taco/tortilla lay the Cos lettuce. Flake the fish with a fork and scatter the chunks over the top. Drizzle the chilli sauce and then spoon on some the mango and bean salsa… and just like that… time to eat!


 

Little Amigo Taquitos: Pan fried Corn Tortillas stuffed with Shredded beef and Red Pepper Sauce
I was 5 or 6 years old when I first tried Mexican food. My parents took me to this little restaurant in Brisbane and I remember salivating at the incredibly wild and exotic smells coming from the kitchen. My parents ordered this dish for me… and I LOVED IT!
I don’t know if this is exactly the same as it comes from a memory over 30 years old but I hope it makes as big an impact on your kids as it did on me! Please feel free to omit the chillies in this recipe if your children don’t like then, I have tried to keep it mild but I liked hot food from a young age!

Make the shredded beef:
1. Heat Griddle pan and add the garlic. Roast the garlic till the skin blackens and they soften then remove and skin.
2. Okay two ways to go here… Pressure Cooker or Old School in a pot… one is quick, one is slow… both taste goooood!
3. In the large pot or the pressure cooker add onions, red chillies, garlic, beef and brown.
4. Add the beef stock, tomatoes, cinnamon and cumin then add enough water to ensure meat is covered.
5. If using a pressure cooker place lid on and cook to manufacturer’s advice… (Every pressure cooker is different, mine normally takes 30 minutes).
6. If you are using a pot on the stove, cook covered on low simmer for 1 hour then remove lid and cook for approx 2-3 hours.
7. Once meat is tender transfer to large flat pan and cook off excess liquid. Meat should be shredded and juicy.

Assemble the tortillas:
Heat oven to 180˚C and heat up the Old El Paso corn tortillas.
Once heated, spoon in some of the meat mixture and lettuce then drizzle Old El Paso Medium Salsa over the top … promise these won’t last long!