Welcome to December Mystery Dish! Should be a good post for my last recipe of the year. I didn’t intend to take a two week break, but it’s been nice to unplug. 🙂 Sherri at The Well Floured Kitchen was this month’s host for Mystery Dish, and the ingredients she chose for us included: Dark Chocolate, Greek Yogurt, Berries, Coconut Oil, Walnuts, Fish, Baby Spinach, and Pecorino Romano Cheese. We had to use at least two, and I chose to use fish and berries… cranberries to be specific. I know cranberries aren’t always thought of as traditional ‘berries’ but they are in season and I love them so I wanted to use them! For more info on berries, check out Wikipedia. 🙂
Ben helped extensively with this recipe–he came up with the idea to make fish tacos, and I wanted to try my hand at a cranberry salsa. Fruit salsas are so complimentary to fish tacos, and this one, though a little more tart than most, was absolutely amazing. I used two types of fresh herbs [rosemary and parsley] and tangerine to flavor it up, then added a little sweetness and tartness with honey and red raspberry vinegar. My goal was to make the salsa be different from my usual cranberry relish [fresh cranberries, sugar, and an orange], and I think I succeeded!
While I was cranberry salsa-ing it up, Ben was busy preparing the fish tacos. He’s the fish taco expert in the family, and decided to season the tilapia with some olive oil and vinegar–but not just your average olive oil and vinegar. He used some special blood orange-infused olive oil and coconut-infused white balsamic vinegar from the Bumble Olive Oil Company in his hometown [Toledo, Ohio]. If you can get your hands on these infused oils, DO IT! So good. But if not, use extracts or juices to create the same effect. The result? A sweet, tender, flaky fish that pairs so well with some tart salsa and crunchy cabbage. I also whipped up some Mexican rice with dinner… aka my favorite side ever. Yum yum and yum! Hope you enjoy!
one year ago: White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies
two years ago: Classic Sugar Cookies
three years ago: Cranberry Scones
Baked Fish Tacos with Cranberry Salsa
click to print
Ingredients:
- 3-4 tilapia filets [frozen or fresh]
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil [mine was blood-orange infused]*
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar [mine was coconut infused]*
- 1/4 of a sweet yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tangerine, sliced and seeded [leave on peel]
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 2 tablespoons red raspberry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- tortillas, for serving
- chopped red cabbage, for serving
- lime wedges, for serving
- sour cream, for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, then place tilapia filets in baking dish. Combine olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl, then brush mixture over tilapia, turning to coat. Cook for 13-15 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. If you use fresh fish, the cook time will be reduced.
Meanwhile, combine onion, garlic, and tangerine in a food processor. Pulse until nearly smooth, then add parsley, rosemary, vinegar, honey, and cranberries. Pulse a few times to break up cranberries, then season with pepper and salt to taste.
Gently slice fish into strips, then serve in tortillas with cabbage and sour cream, squeezing lime wedges overtop before enjoying.
Time: 25 minutes.
Yield: 3-4 servings.
Note: I used infused evoo and balsamic vinegar. You can add a few drops of coconut or orange extract for a similar flavor profile, or a little orange juice or zest.
Please check out the rest of the Mystery Dish posts when you have a chance too. They all look SO delicious!
1. Cinnamon Coffee Cake from Buttercream Fanatic
2. Dark Chocolate Chip Coconut Oil Cookies from Chez Catey Lou
3. Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart from The Dessert Chronicles
4. Berry Chocolate Streusel Bars from Baking a Moment
5. Green Berry Smoothie from I Want Crazy
6. Baked Fish Tacos with Cranberry Salsa from The Pajama Chef
7. Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Brownies from Joyful Healthy Eats
8. Healthy Homemade Granola Parfait from Yummy Healthy Easy
9. Pear Cranberry Crockpot Oatmeal from See Hubby Cook
10. Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies from Culinary Couture
11. Raspberry Chocolate Crumb Bars from I Dig Pinterest
12. Dark Chocolate Walnut Coconut Macaroon Fingers from The Well Floured Kitchen
First of all: cranberries are totally a berry. So there. Anyone who argues with you on this one has to argue with me too.
Secondly: I’ve been craving fish tacos like CRAZY lately. Thank you for reading my mind.
Third: OH MY GOSH!!! I made your Peppermint M&M cookies last year (pretty sure they’re on my Pinterest still) and you created a monster. Hubby just bought the last bag of Peppermint M&Ms in the store because you made him hooked on them last year. And here we are today, working together on Mystery Dish. I love this. I don’t know how this magic happened, but I love it.
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thanks dani! that is too funny about the peppermint m&m cookies. they are sure delicious, huh? 🙂
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Sounds delicious! I love fish tacos, but never would have thought to use cranberries. The infused oil sounds like a great compliment to the dish.
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thanks sherri! i always hesitate to post recipes with hard-to-find ingredients but the infused oil and vinegar really made the dish!
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Ooo I love the sound of the cranberry salsa! I adore pairing a fruity salsa with tacos! These sound delicious! And a very happy happy New Year!!!
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thanks ashley! happy new year to you, too!
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Cranberry salsa, YUM! You always have the best recipes, Sarah! Happy new year to you and Ben! 🙂
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thanks dallas! happy new year to you too!
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What a great use of the mystery dish ingredients – these tacos look amazing! Such a delicious combo of flavors. And how fun that you made these with Ben – I love cooking with my hubby! Thanks again for getting me involved with mystery dish – I am so happy to be a part of the group!
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thanks cate! so glad you’re part of the group now 🙂
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we live on cape cod and we cannot find a good place to find a fish taco
strange right?
so I have to make my own.
these sound heavenly!
happy new year to you!
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thanks dawn! happy new year!
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Fish tacos are one of my all time favorite foods, but they’re usually so summery. I’m going to consider this cranberry-filled recipe total carte blanche to eat fish tacos all winter long!
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thanks nora! we’ll miss you in the group!
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We have tacos once a week in our house and Brian is a huge fan of fish so I am going to have to bust this one out for him sometime soon. You are so creative!
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thanks kat! we love fish tacos…ben is usually the one to request them (and then he makes them too). what a guy 🙂
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This is such a unique marriage of flavors! I never got to try fish tacos before I went vegetarian, but I’ve always been intrigued by them. I bet these were killer.
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they are really good! 🙂 thanks!
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