These easy blackened fish tacos are topped with a delicious black bean and corn salsa, simple lime crema, and crumbled queso fresco. With a cold beer on the deck, this is the ultimate light and fresh summer meal!
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How's your summer going so far? We're just coming out of a heat wave unlike anything we've seen in Montreal in recent years. Considering what a brutal winter we had though, I have ZERO complaints.
And the heat did not stop us from enjoying as many meals on the deck as possible. Especially light, flavorful meals that go nicely with a cold beer. For me, this equals tacos!
Remember this blackened fish from last week? After I saw how easy and delicious it was, my head was spinning with ideas to put it in everything. I didn't waste any time, and decided to start with these blackened fish tacos.
I whipped up a quick black bean and corn salsa, and with an easy lime crema and some crumbled queso to top it all off, this was the perfect outdoor summer meal!
The salsa came together really quickly with canned black beans and frozen corn, some veggies, cilantro and a tangy lime vinaigrette. It was the perfect complement to the fish, but would also be terrific on it's own, served with chips!
What is Rockfish?
Speaking of the fish, I used rockfish , also known as Pacific snapper, again this time, since it worked out so well the last time AND was so inexpensive!
I discovered it when my fish monger was out of my first choice, red snapper. It looked similar so I decided to give it a shot, and ended up liking it even better!
Rockfish is a bass-like fish, common in the pacific ocean. It has a firm white flesh and a mild taste. If you can't find it though, you can of course substitute any firm white fish.
We CANNOT get enough tacos (or Mexican food in general) around here. If you love them as much as we do, here are a couple others we love!
Ground beef tacos al pastor-style
And if you you just can't wait longer than 15 minutes for your Mexican food fix, try these easy chicken quesadillas! (Now that I think of it, I think the corn and black bean salsa for these blackened fish tacos would be amazing in - or on top - of these quesadillas!).
Hope the weather's treating you well and you're getting in plenty of downtime with your friends and family!
Enjoy xx
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Blackened Fish Tacos with Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Ingredients
Blackened Fish
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1.5 lbs rockfish fillets or other firm white fish such as snapper, tilapia, cod etc.
- 4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice or more, to taste
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small clove of garlic minced
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels frozen and thawed, canned, or fresh
- 1 plum tomato seeded and diced
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Lime Crema
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For serving
- 1 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
- cilantro chopped
- 12 corn tortillas lightly toasted in the cast iron pan, or briefly heated in the microwave
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
Blackened Fish
- In a small bowl, combine the paprika, onion powder, thyme, oregano, cayenne, salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the seasoning mix evenly over both sides of the fish fillets.
- In a large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat. Once the pan is very hot, add the fish fillets and sear for about 2-3 minutes, until dark but not burnt. Flip the fish and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side, until cooked through.
- Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Before serving, tear the fish into large chunks.
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Add the dressing and toss until well combined.
Lime Crema
- In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, lime zest, lime juice and salt.
- Serve fish with tortillas, salsa, cheese, lime crema, lime wedges and extra cilantro.
Tara
This is a very adaptable recipe. We're in the COVID-19 days, and I was limited in the produce arena. Subbed the onion and tomato for jarred salsa, no cilantro, bottled lime juice with no zest. Still amazing flavor! Oh, and I used tilapia. Thank you for a great meal!
Ann
I love that Tara! So glad you were able to make it work for you. 🙂
Dawn Blair
This was my first attempt at fish tacos and I am so glad I came across this recipe! I found rockfish at a cheap price and was looking on pinterest for a recipe for it. These tacos are fantastic. I love the fresh salsa and all of the flavors really compliment each other. I used the feta because I am not a fan of queso fresco and it paired perfectly with the tacos. Thank you so much!
Ann
Yay thank you so much for letting me know, Dawn! This one one of my favorite meals from last summer :). Rockfish was definitely a revelation for me. Way less expensive than cod or similar AND sustainable!
Debbie
I loved this!! I am following Weight Watchers Freestyle, and this is a great recipe for the plan- corn, black beans, and lean fish are all 0 points! (I made some modifications).
I made the crema with 0% Fage Greek yogurt instead of sour cream (0 points) and it was still delicious!
I used Mahi mahi as the fish, and used a little less oil in the salsa and used cooking spray instead of oil for cooking. The queso fresco is awesome but depending what my daily budget looks like, these are still delicious without. The store didn’t have fresh cilantro but I used to Goya cilantro cooking base to season the salsa and it was good (fresh herbs are always better but this worked in a pinch!)
Ann
Awesome Debbie! LOVE how you adapted them to meet your dietary needs!