When I was young, I thought that tacos only came one way: served in a hard, yellow taco shell, stuffed with saucy beef crumbles, a sprinkling of shredded iceberg lettuce, a smattering of salsa, and shredded yellow cheese. Taco Bell sure skewed my view of Mexican food. You can imagine my quizzical look when I ordered my first taco at a proper taqueria. It didn’t come in the familiar U-shaped shell.
Fast forward to my college years. My friends introduced me to the idea of “Taco Tuesdays.” Every Tuesday, they flocked over to the nearest Del Taco to gorge in their share of cheap tacos. Each of them ate no less than 10 tacos on those days. And that’s not an exaggeration.
When I finally came of age to reap the full benefits of happy hours, I explored the wonders of cheap food and cheap booze on a Taco Tuesday, as well as the merriment that ensued. If you still haven’t dabbled on a Taco Tuesday excursion yet, don’t wait any longer!
The theme for this month’s Recipe Redux is a healthy recipe that I’m heating up with some smoke or spiciness. The first thing that jumped to mind: harissa. Harissa is having a bit of a ball right now in the food world and on this blog. I know this sounds a bit counterintuitive, but I’m not fan of hot sauces that taste like nothing but hot spice. Anyone can toss in cayenne pepper to a dish for some heat. I crave hot sauces with depth.
Heat aside, harissa has hints of cumin, coriander, garlic, caraway, lemon juice, and any other spice you feel like adding in there. In other words, my kind of hot sauce.
I intended to make fish tacos with regular harissa, until I saw this green harissa recipe from Half-Baked Harvest. My eyes couldn’t turn away from the gorgeous look of harissa in a green dress. After going through many harissa recipes (both green and red versions), I finally came up with this. So good in fish tacos!
You’ll notice that I’ve kept the other flavors of the taco relatively simple because the star of the show is the green harissa. Feel free to add whatever else you want to make these tacos shine. Happy eating!
Fish Tacos with Green Harissa
Ingredients
Green Harissa (Makes about 3/4 cup)
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, or 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp corriander seeds, or 1 and 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp caraway seeds, optional
- 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, about a small handful
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped spinach
- 2 to 3 TBS lemon juice, depending on how much acidity you want
- 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Tacos
- 1 lb tilapia, 450g
- 1 and 1/2 TBS olive oil
- pinch of kosher salt
- 6 six-inch tortillas, I used purple corn and flour tortillas
Toppings
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup pico de gallo salsa, or salsa of your choice
Instructions
- Toast the cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds by pouring them into a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir for about 2-3 minutes. Grind the seeds in a spice mill or coffee grinder.
- In a food processor, combine the ground spices with all the other ingredients for the green harissa and blend. My harissa wasn’t too smooth after blending it in the food processor, so I finished it in a high-speed blender. Set aside.
- Pat the tilapia filets with paper towels. Then, sprinkle a bit of kosher salt over the filets.
- In a large pan, heat 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the tilapia on the pan. Cook each side for about 3 minutes, or until the fish looks white and flaky.
- Heat the tortillas in a pan. Divide the tilipa in each tortilla. I broke the tilapia into smaller pieces with a fork. Top the fish with red cabbage, peppers, pico de gallo, and the green harissa. You will have extra harissa left over, so save it for another meal!
- Best served immediately.
Notes
Looking for more recipes with harissa? Try this:
Joanne says
Harissa is definitely my favorite “trendy” food at the moment! And yet I still haven’t tried a green version! YIKES. Must get on that. GENIUS to put it on these tacos! I’m sure it’s a flavor explosion.
Lisa says
That green harissa was such a fun ingredient to play with. So worth trying!
Alanna says
It has been far too long since I participated in the joys of Taco Tuesday – I miss it! That green harissa looks amazing and I’m going to make it ASAP!! I think I will be putting it on everything 😉
Lisa says
Yea! Let me know if you try it!
francesca says
Looks like a meal served at Bonefish, but more delish!
Lisa says
Thanks, Francesca!
diane says
Agree, your green harissa is gorgeous! I love fish tacos and the addition of your green harissa sounds like a good idea! Thanks for sharing your passion.
Lisa says
Thanks, Diane!
Marjory @ Dinner-Mom says
Taco Tuesday is a must at our house! It makes planning easy too. Excited to try your green harissa! Looks fantastic!
Lisa says
Thanks, Marjory! Glad that you do Taco Tuesdays, too! Let me know how the green harissa works for you!
Amanda @ The Wholesome Dish says
Honestly, I’ve never had harissa before. After reading this, I’m convinced that I must try it. This sounds amazing!
Lisa says
Thanks, Amanda! Let me know if you try it!
genevieve @ gratitude & greens says
Taco tuesdays are exactly what I need in my life! Tacos on tacos on tacos? Sounds like heaven. Gorgeous photos as always, and I love how vibrant that green harissa is!
Lisa says
Thanks, Genevieve!! If we’re ever in the same city together, we need to go out for some Taco Tuesday action!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician says
Whoa!!! That green harissa looks A-MAZ-ING!!! I can’t wait to make up a batch of my own. With those yummy tacos it just looks like such a flavor packed combo!
Lisa says
Thanks, Sonali!! Let me know if you try it!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Fabulous! I love a good taco and tilapia is such a nice fresh fish to use with some spice!
Lisa says
Yes, I love that tilapia soaks up whatever seasoning or sauce it’s paired with!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes) says
These are fish taco heaven girlfriend!
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Jocelyn!
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
Yay for Taco Tuesday!! I’m always last to jump on the trendy food scene and have yet to make harissa. I’ve never heard of green harissa but it sure looks amazing! Bumping it up to the very top of my “to make ASAP” list. ;}
Lisa says
Let me know if you try the green harissa! I would love to know what other people think of it!
Selena @ The Nutritious Kitchen says
Fish tacos are my FAVORITE meal on earth! I have always wanted to make my own harrissa too! This combo is awesome and your photos are gorgeous 🙂 Pinning!!
Lisa says
Thanks, Selena!!
Emily @ Zen & Spice says
These look amazing! Beautiful pictures. Makes me want to run out and make fish tacos!
Lisa says
Thanks, Emily! Do it!
Melissa Falk says
Love harissa. The spicier the better, I always say 🙂 Great looking recipe.
Lisa says
I love spice, too! Thanks, Melissa!
rachel@ Athletic Avocado says
mmm I love fish tacos!!! I really wanna make that harissa! It sounds so yummy!
Lisa says
Thanks, Rachel!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
Looks great, Lisa. You always make the most colorful foods! I love harissa, but haven’t tried the green version yet. On my (very long) “to-do” list.
Lisa says
Yea, let me know when you get around to trying the green harissa!
Eileen says
Tacos in the 80s were such a far cry from tacos now! I love the idea of spicing up a classic fish taco with harissa. SO good.
Lisa says
I know, I still can’t believe I used to think Taco Bell was “authentic” Mexican food.
Maggie says
I always like nice fish tacos and the green sauce looks so cool! I actually seldom cook tacos at home, but definitely should do it more. They so simple to make and delicious 🙂
Lisa says
They really are so easy to make. I always keep some tortillas in the refrigerator in case I need to make a quick meal!