These Fish Tacos with Citrus + Jalapeño Salsa are super simple to make and packed with fresh, bright flavors. A little smokey, savory, light, and zippy, this recipe will be a new favorite. Here, cod or snapper is cooked with a hint of chili powder and lime zest until it easily flakes apart. Once cooked, enjoy fish in charred tortillas, and bring it all together with the citrus and jalapeño salsa for a bright and punchy kick. Serve with lots of fresh lime wedges and cilantro for good measure.
This beaut comes together in less than 20 minutes, which makes this recipe realistic on a weeknight, though it’s beautiful enough for having friends over for dinner, too. Whether you’re making this for a quick weeknight dinner or for friends, I have the perfect Rosé pairing for you! I teamed up with the ladies over at Guildford Green to develop and pair this dish with one of their newest spring releases, the Halcyon California Rosé. Spoiler alert: it’s an insanely delicious flavor combo! Vibrant, fresh, and full of flavor, these tacos are great to pair with those peppery and strawberry notes from the rosé. This is not sponsored – I just genuinely love Guildford Green, and think you will, too! Shop the wine at the bottom of this post underneath my suggested recipe riffs.
Fish Tacos with Citrus + Jalapeño Salsa
Ingredients
For the Citrus + Jalapeño Salsa
- 3 tablespoons diced shallot
- 3 tablespoons diced and seeded jalapeño
- zest of 1/2 lime (save zest from other half of lime for the fish)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about the juice of 1 juicy lime)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 grapefruit, peel and pith removed, fruit cut into small pieces
- kosher salt
For the Fish
- 1 lb cod or snapper, skinless, pin bones removed
- 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- zest of 1/2 lime
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- kosher salt
For Serving
- 8 corn tortillas, warmed
- additional lime wedges
- additional fresh cilantro
- ripe avocado
Instructions
Prep the salsa
- Add shallot, jalapeño, zest from ½ of a lime, and lime juice to a small bowl. Season generously with kosher salt and stir to combine. Let sit while you cook the fish - you’ll add the cilantro and grapefruit right before serving.
Cook the fish
- Drizzle one teaspoon of olive oil on fish. Then sprinkle remaining lime zest, chili powder, and kosher salt all over.
- Heat skillet to medium high heat and add remaining olive oil. Cook fish in skillet for about 4 minutes, flip, and cook for additional 3-4 minutes until fish is easily flaked, and remove from heat. Squeeze additional fresh lime juice all over the fish and set aside while you heat tortillas.
- Char the tortillas on both sides over an open flame or in a skillet over high heat.
Assemble and serve
- Fold prepped cilantro and grapefruit into salsa.
- Gently flake apart the fish into large pieces, and distribute into tortillas. Top with spoonfuls of citrus and jalapeño salsa, ripe avocado, and serve with additional cilantro and lime wedges.
A FEW NOTES ON RIFFS:
- The fish: Cod and Snapper are my first choices for this recipe. Any other flaky white fish will get the job done, such as Tilapia, which will cook faster. Don’t worry if the fish breaks up in the skillet – you’re going to flake it for serving anyways! Jumbo shrimp work deliciously too. If you use shrimp, you’ll cut the cooking time in about half, as you’ll only need about 2 minutes per side.
- The citrus: Lime is a must in the salsa for that zippy kick. Grapefruit adds a tart and sweet counterpoint, and could easily be replaced with oranges here, or even better: cubed up mango!
- The tortillas: Small, taco-sized tortillas are best here, and I’m sharing my two favorite taco tortillas in the shop section at the bottom of this post. For a lighter, fresher take, swap butter lettuce in place of tortillas.
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