Grilled Sea Bass and Red Onion Tacos with Avocado Crema – Recipe!

Fish tacos are one of my favorite things to eat for a casual dinner.  I especially like them grilled, instead of fried, because you can taste the freshness of the fish and all the other ingredients.  Grilling either on an outdoor grill or in a grill pan on the stove top works beautifully in this recipe.  The trick to creating great grilled fish tacos is to use a large filet and keep the skin on one side, so that during grilling, the fish is easy to flip and stays super tender.  Afterwards, it’s easy to shred into big chunks with two forks to place in tortillas and dollop with my creamy avocado crema, and some shredded lettuce.

I chose sea bass because it’s easy enough to shred into pieces and stays super moist after grilling.  It doesn’t matter which type of sea bass you choose, just buy a filet that’s at least one and a half inches thick.  I grilled red onions along with the fish and removed them from the grill pan a few minutes prior – just until soft and beautifully tender.  This combination of sea bass and onions in a taco tastes outstanding and the avocado crema accentuates the Mexican flavors so nicely — I think you’ll agree.

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds sea bass filet, skin on

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 red onion, sliced quarter inch thick

8 corn or small flour tortillas

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

hot sauce, optional

lime wedges, optional

oil for pan or grates

Avocado Crema

1/2 avocado

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 jalapeno

1/2 teaspoon salt

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1. Remove fish from any packaging and pat dry with paper towels.  Set aside.
2. In a small bowl – combine cumin, onion powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder and cayenne.  Sprinkle all, but 1/2 teaspoon over fish on all sides.
3. In a food processor or small blender, add avocado, sour cream, jalapeno and salt.  Puree until smooth, set aside.
4. On an oiled grill pan or outdoor grill preheated to 375 degrees, place fish flesh-side-down.  Place onions on grill pan or grill, and sprinkle with remaining seasoning.  Cook for 4 minutes.  Flip fish and onions over and cover fish with metal loaf pan, if using grill pan.
5. Cook onions for 2 minutes, then remove onto plate.  Turn heat down to lower temperature (about 325 degrees or low on stove top), and continue cooking sea bass for 6 minutes.  Remove loaf pan and fish from grill.  Place on plate and after 2 minutes, shred into chunks with two forks.
6. Toast tortillas on grill or pan for a couple of minutes.  Place on a serving board and add chunks of sea bass, a dollop of avocado crema and some shredded lettuce.  Serve with hot sauce and lime wedges, if desired.  Enjoy!