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A Taste of Wild - Pacific Northwest
Jon Moore and Aubrey Gigandet bring you restaurant-worthy recipes you can make on the road, inspired by their travels in the Pacific Northwest.
Blackened Rockfish Tacos with Traditional Chimichurri and Fire Roasted Tortillas
On one of our first dates, Jon taught me to surf—and then he made simple rockfish tacos. Just tortillas, fish and salsa. And maybe I was just coming off the high of my first time standing on a wave, but those tacos were delicious. Now, rockfish tacos have become our tradition whenever we’re on the coast. We’ve made a few improvements to the original recipe, but nothing beats the way they taste after a long day of standing on waves.
Homemade Tortillas*
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups masa harina (Mexican flour)
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- Pinch of salt
- Plastic wrap or baggie
COOKING TOOLS
- Linen to keep tortillas warm
- Medium bowl
- Medium cast-iron pan
METHOD
If you want to make your own tortillas (a completely optional step), combine the masa, salt and water in a medium size bowl. Mix and then transfer to a cutting board to knead the dough. It will start out a bit sticky, but the dough will absorb the water and the stickiness will go away. It should be smooth and elastic. Cover and let it relax for 25 minutes.
Once it’s nice and rested, take the dough and distribute it into three-inch balls. Cut the baggies along the seam so you end up with two flat sheets of plastic. Place a ball of dough between them, flatten it with a rolling pin and shape it into a circle. If you don’t have a rolling pin, or you’re just feeling rustic, you can smoosh them flat by hand like we did. To cook the tortilla, heat a medium cast-iron pan on medium heat and cook it for about a minute on each side. Wrap your tortillas in linen to keep them warm as they come off the flame.
*Homemade tortillas are completely optional. Feel free to use your favorite store brand and skip this step.
Blackened Rockfish
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 1 rockfish
- Olive oil
Chimichurri:
- 1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 bunch parsley, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- Olive oil
- Salt
Toppings:
- Radish, sliced
- Cucumber, sliced
COOKING TOOLS
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Mortar and pestle
- Medium cast-iron pan
- Oven mitt
METHOD
For the rockfish, blend together all of your spices in a small bowl. Skin the fish. This move takes some practice, so don’t try it for the first time in front of your in-laws. Pat dry with a towel, then coat your fillets with the seasoning and set them aside. Throw the same medium cast-iron pan on high heat with some oil, give it a minute to get nice and sizzly, and then lay the fish in the pan, angling away from yourself, so you don’t get burned. It will cook in 2-3 minutes per side, and you want it opaque all the way through.
To make the chimichurri, blend all your sauce ingredients using the mortar and pestle. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil at a time you mix. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the salt. Bonus points if you serve with tequila.
Yields 2 servings.
