Sophie Grigson's Fish Tacos with Pico de Gallo

I love this Mexican mix of griddled fish, with Pico de Gallo,  fresh tomato salsa and a soothing, creamy avocado mayonnaise, all wrapped up in a tortilla. Great for a family supper, or a party of mates and ice cold beer.

Before you grill the fish, line the wire rack of the grill with silver foil, and grill the fish close to the heat without turning, so that the top gets a chance to brown a little, but the fillets are just cooked through.

Serves 4

8 corn tortillas
pico de gallo (see accompanying recipe)
and/or baja sauce (see accompanying recipe)
2 little gem lettuces, shredded

For the fish:
600 g haddock fillets or other firm white fleshed fish
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes, or pickled, drained if necessary, and chopped
Juice 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Marinade the fish with the chipotle, the lime, olive oil, salt and pepper for at least half an hour.   Put the pico de gallo and/or Baja sauce, and lettuce into bowls  ready to serve.  

Preheat the grill or the barbecue really thoroughly.   Take the fish out of the marinade and grill close to the heat for around 5-6 minutes, until just cooked through.   Heat the tortillas according to packet instrtuctions either in the oven (wrap in foil first), or in the microwave.

Quickly break the fish into large flakes, then serve with hot tortillas and all the trimmings, so that all your fellow-diners can roll up their own tacos, with a little of the grilled fish, scarlet pico de gallo, soothing baja sauce and crisp sweet lettuce.  

From “Spices”, published October 2011 (Quadrille)