Broiled Fish Tacos

By Sarah Copeland

Broiled Fish Tacos
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food styling: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(1,481)
Comments
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There’s no reason to reserve fish tacos for vacation or a night out. Put your broiler to work, and make them an easy weekly affair. Paprika and coriander give meaty white fish like mahi-mahi or halibut tons of impact, but the real star here is the lime-laced herb salad, which makes every bite pop. Make sure to start with the best corn tortillas you can find. And don't worry about loading the tacos up with cabbage and pico de gallo: There’s no need here. These are at their best (and easiest) when they're pared down.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3limes
  • ¼cup grapeseed or canola oil
  • 1packed cup cilantro leaves, chopped (from about half a bunch)
  • 1packed cup fresh mint, parsley or basil leaves, or a combination, chopped
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
  • ½teaspoon paprika
  • ½teaspoon ground coriander
  • 4boneless mahi-mahi or halibut fillets, about 6 ounces each
  • 8corn tortillas
  • Mexican crema or crème fraîche, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

405 calories; 17 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 36 grams protein; 418 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Finely zest the limes into a medium bowl. Remove the peel and pith from each lime. Discard the peel and pith, and cut the flesh into rounds. Chop into small pieces and add to the bowl. Set aside, along with 1 tablespoon vegetable or grapeseed oil and the chopped herbs. (You’ll add them right before serving.)

  2. Step 2

    Move the broiler rack to less than 6 inches from the flame or coil, and heat broiler to high. Place the fish fillets in a flat, ovenproof dish. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, salt, paprika and coriander in a small bowl. Drizzle all over the fish, rubbing to make sure all surfaces are coated. Broil until fish is crispy golden brown around the edges and just cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes (do not overcook).

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, lay out the tortillas in an even layer (overlapping slightly) on a baking sheet. Remove from the fish from the oven, and immediately toast the tortillas under the broiler until golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Flip and toast 30 seconds to 1 minute more. (These are warm and pliable right out the oven, but crisp up as they cool. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep soft.)

  4. Step 4

    Toss together the lime zest, lime flesh, herbs and oil and season with salt. Break each fish fillet in half with a fork or spoon to make 8 portions, and fill each tortilla with fish and herb salad. Drizzle or serve with crema.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,481 user ratings
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Comments

Frederic

I could not figure out how to remove the pith from each lime. Broiling the tortillas made them brittle. I get better results from heating a pan over a medium flame and warming the tortilla one at a time, maybe a minute on each side. That way, they stay soft.

Emily Weinstein, Deputy Food Editor

Based on your notes we changed the four limes to three, since some people may find larger limes at the store. If you try three and find it needs a little more, just keep going. Enjoy!

Brittany

While I was zesting the 4 limes I thought to myself that it looked like quite a lot of lime zest. My suspicions were accurate. The next time I make this recipe I will start with less than half the zest it calls for and work up from there. I otherwise thought the recipe was good; 6 minutes under the broiler was perfect for the fish.

Gerry

OK, I had my doubts after reading this recipe, but I tried it. Big mistake. The salsa in so incredibly bitter that it's inedible. This is not the way to warm tortillas; they become like shingles. The fish was just OK, but I'm glad I didn't spend $20/lb. for halibut. My advice would be to pretend you never saw this. It was the worst thing I've ever cooked.

Micah

I’d suggest adding more salt, warming the tortillas in a pan instead of broiling, and using the flesh of 1 lime instead of 3. I found this recipe disappointing, but it might be redeemable…

ann

This took me nearly an hour, mostly and trying to remove the pith. I did Google how to do it and did not get much help. Did not know it was called supreming citrus — that would’ve been valuable information in the recipe. I found the salad overly limey – squeezing the juice into the salad would have been a better bet for me – and the results not very appealing.

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