Blackened Tilapia Tacos with Cider Lime Slaw and Lime Crema

When I think about the ten years I spent on the west coast, there are many things I don't miss. Traffic, smoggy air, hookers giving me a wink and a, "Hey, shuggah!" when I was just trying to buy a donut...

...but I digress. There are far more things I do miss.

Food memories are strongly associated with almost every major event in my life. If you ask me for directions, I usually correlate your path of travel with the restaurant or grocery store closest to your final destination. I'm very food-centric. I will never forget the first time I ate a fish taco. Sitting on the beach outside of San Diego, the cool ocean breeze hitting my face, and blowing my napkins all over the place. The fresh, savory, cool and crunchy deliciousness that I'd heard so much about lived up to it's reputation. I was hooked.

We're not chefs from Ensenada, but my wife (@thinlinesandsuch) and I wanted to create something that was reminiscent of our California cooking roots with our own twist at our restaurant. This was the final product.

Enjoy on a summer day with a Corona ;)

Blackened Tilapia Tacos
(Makes 8 Tacos)

• 8 Flour, taco-size, tortillas (Or 16 corn...just use 2 tortillas per taco)
• 4 Tilapia filets
• 1/2 cup Blackening Seasoning...recipe here: https://steemit.com/food/@jennshaggy/blackened-truffle-bacon-blt
• Cider Lime Slaw (see below)
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 2 TBSP Lime Juice
• 1-2 Ripe Avocados
• Cilantro Leaves, for ganish
• Black Sesame Seeds, for garnish
• Limes wedges

Cider Lime Slaw

• 1 bag of shredded Red Cabbage (Roughy 2lbs)
• 3/4 cup Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Lime Juice
• 2 TBSP Agave Nectar
• 1/2 Red Onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 Jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped

FIrst, make your slaw.

Place the Shredded Cabbage in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the Cider Vinegar, Lime Juice and Agave Nectar. Set aside.

Combine the Shredded Cabbage with the chopped Red Onion and Jalapeños, then pour the vinegar mixture over top of it. Using your hands, massage/mix it all together. The vinegar and lime will essentially "cook down" the cabbage, so if really raw cabbage isn't your thing, make the slaw a few hours in advance.

Once it's all thoroughly mixed together, cover and set in the fridge.

Next, pull out your Tilapia.

Pat each piece of fish dry using a clean kitchen towl, then sprinkle the Blackening Seasoning all over the fish to coat. Make sure you get both sides.

You can cook the fish several ways, depending on your personal taste. You can heat your cooking oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, and cook each filet 3-4 minutes per side. You can also drop it in a 350 degree deep fryer, if that's your thing. Or, you can cook it in a 450 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. It's really up to you.

Now that the fish is done, whisk together the lime and sour cream to make your Lime Crema.

Warm your tortillas directly over your stoves flames (don't walk away while you're doing this...just a few seconds per side), or you can warm them in a skillet.

Now, build your tacos!

Cut each piece of Tilapia in half, and build tacos in this order:

Tortilla
Piece of Tilapia
About 1/4 cup of Cider Lime Slaw
Slice of Avocado
Lime Crema
Cilantro Leaves
Black Sesame Seeds

Serve immediately with lime wedges, and whatever salsa you enjoy the most!