Friday was National Margarita Day, and there absolutely couldn’t have been a better day to celebrate it. It was a warm 76 degrees with the sun beating down in San Miguel, Cozumel, on the second day of my spontaneous vacation. I relaxed on the beach like a typical tourist– toes dug into the sand, sunblock slathered on, and a cocktail constantly in my hand. Can you guess what my cocktail of choice was that day?
If you said “Margaritas!” you were right. If you believed that I was actually in San Miguel, I hate to say that you’ve been fooled. I was sitting in New Jersey, doing a ton of nothing in the freezing cold, daydreaming about a place where it reaches over 50 degrees in February. I was also drinking margaritas, so for that, I can’t complain.
So one freezing cold day went by, and several beach-worthy drinks were had, but I just couldn’t get my fill of that Mexican, summery flavor. I had a ton of leftover tequila and limes, so I decided to make use of them in the second best way I knew how—by making Margarita Fish Tacos.
I had some leftover Bean Salsa laying around, so I threw that on too, and I thought it made the fish tacos even better. However, the tacos are delicious without it, so if you’d prefer to add salsa or nothing at all, that will be fine too. If you like bean salsa, though, try it. I ate two of these tacos (I could have eaten three, maybe even four, but my friends ate the rest), and then I put the leftover bean salsa on rice to eat the next day.
Then I had another margarita, to compliment the dinner. This is a no-judgement zone, right?
- 2 cups red and/or green cabbage, shredded
- 8 6-inch tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Montery Jack cheese (optional)
- Cilantro and lime wedges, to garnish (optional)
- 1 shot of tequila
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 lb mahi mahi, tilapia, or other white fish
- ¼ cup mayonnaise (reduced-fat tastes fine for this recipe)
- ¼ cup greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 chipotle chiles (from a can of chiles in adobo), finely chopped
- 1 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chiles in adobo)
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15oz can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 50 oz can whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix until ingredients are evenly distributed
- Cover the mixture and place in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 1 hour) to let the flavors mingle.
- In a large, sealable plastic container or plastic freezer bag, combine the tequila, lime juice, oil, Old Bay, chili powder, and cumin.
- Place the fish in the container and turn to coat. Cover, and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
- As you wait for the fish to marinate, add all of the Chipotle Lime Sauce ingredients to a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Remove the fish from the marinade and sprinkle each side of the filets with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the mahi mahi and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. The fish should then flake apart easily.
- Break the fish into chunks and divide among the 8 tortillas.
- Top with cabbage, bean salsa, and shredded cheese, if desired.
- Spoon about 2 tsp worth of the Chipotle Lime Sauce over each taco.
- Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately.
