Pesto Grilled Fish Tacos with Avocado Pico de Gallo

I became a big fan of fish tacos when I lived in California. It sounded strange to me at first, but once I tried them, I was totally hooked. Now whenever I am faced with fish leftovers, I make some fish tacos. They are so easy, quick and such a nice twist on fish.

This recipe includes the grilling of the fish … but you can also make fish tacos with leftover grilled, baked or fried fish. Just heat up the fish as you are heating the tortillas, toss together the fresh pico de gallo, and serve. It’s a great way for using up leftover fish.

I do really like it with the pesto grilled fish, though. It gives the tacos such a nice smoky taste. You could double the pesto grilled fish: use the first pound for the first meal with whatever sides you have planned, then the rest for the tacos. It’s quite all right to heat up leftover fish in the microwave for the tacos.

Pesto Grilled Fish Tacos with Avocado Pico de Gallo

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 - 8 tacos, depending on how many fish pieces you use on each 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 lb fish fillets
• 1/3 cup pesto (I recommend cilantro almond or chive asparagus pesto for this)
• Fresh onion and/or lemon or lime slices

For the Pico de Gallo:

• 1/3 cup fresh tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 perfectly ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno (more or less to taste)
• juice of 1/2 lime
• Cilantro
• Salt

For the tacos:

• Corn tortillas
• Fresh greens
• Goat cheese crumbles or crumbled queso blanco
• Wedges of fresh lime (if desired)

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Instructions

1. Toss the fish in the pesto and let sit, covered, in the fridge for 15 minutes to an hour to marinate.
2. Heat up the grill. Set slices of lemon, lime or onion on the grill to create a “bed” for grilling the fish over the hot coals. Leave a few “holes” in the bed to allow the heat to come through.
3. Sprinkle the fish with salt & pepper and then set them on the hot bed you’ve prepared for them. Cover the grill and let them cook for 5 – 10 minutes or just until the fish flakes easily when you push a fork into it. No need to flip thinner fish fillets … for halibut or thicker fillets, you will want to flip them and cook for another 5 – 10 minutes.
4. While the fish is cooking, prepare the avocado pico de gallo by gently tossing together all the Pico de Gallo ingredients in a small bowl. Add salt to taste (and more jalapeno as desired).
5. Heat the corn tortillas by warming a frying pan on the stove over medium heat, add just a tiny bit of canola oil or rub just a pat of butter to coat the pan, then heat the tortilla until hot, then flip to heat the other side. Repeat with as many tortillas as you need and keep them warm in a tortilla warmer or on a warm plate covered with a towel. (No need to add oil between tortillas until the tortillas start sticking to the pan.)
6. Assemble the tacos by putting a couple pieces of grilled fish on a tortilla, top with greens, then add pico de gallo and crumbled cheese. Serve with a wedge of lime on the side for squeezing over the tacos. Enjoy!

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2013, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 - 3 tacos

This recipe was shared at Thursday’s Treasures, What to Do Weekends, Clever Chicks Bloghop, Seafood Frenzy Friday, Labor Day BBQ Special and From the Farm Bloghop.