Blackened Salmon Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce and Cabbage Slaw

It’s safe to say salmon and I are having a moment. Crispy fillets, burgers, citrus bakes and now the favorite—my forever love language—tacos are added to the mix. To be honest, I haven’t made a salmon taco before so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but the truth of the matter is, making these was a truly anointed moment and God is gracing us with His goodness in this taco.

opentaco.jpg
rawsalmonclose.jpg
avosauce2.jpg
rub.jpg

The rub and the coriander in the slaw are what, I think, really make this taco. I imagine the rub would be good on a lot of proteins other than salmon, but I’ll leave that to the grill masters of the universe and I’ll stick with my fish and veggies. It has a bit of coconut sugar in it, so it offers a hint of sweetness to kind of round out some of the spices and flavors. I recommend using coconut sugar, but if you don’t have any you could try halving the amount of sugar and using brown sugar, or honey may be an interesting substitute. I used about half of the rub for 2 3oz fillets (only covering the flesh side), so there was enough leftover for next time. All together this makes about 6-8 tacos depending on how much you want to fill them, and the rub is easily doubled or tripled for a larger meal or group. It would also keep in a jar for a while if you end up wanting to use it often.

cucumberslaw.jpg
tortilla.jpg
slaw2.jpg

And now we come to the part of the story where I practice some radial candor. The oh so lovely people at Market House sent me a few fillets of salmon to try out there service. At the the sight of their branding, it was basically love at first sight, but having had a touch and go type of relationship with delivery services, I was waiting to see how the quality of the salmon turned out to be. You know I wouldn’t lie to anyone when it comes to matters of food (the heart), love languages, and heaven knows—tacos. So believe me when I say: this salmon rules.

Market House has set up their service to be extremely user friendly, informative, and favors the adamant foodie. If you like to cook, or even more so, like to eat, I would honestly recommend cruising over to their site and seeing what they have to offer. I have a few more fillets in the freezer currently, and already have a dinner and two recipes on the docket. Stay tuned for more salmon, because as we know, we’re having a moment.

BEV2.jpg

Blackened Salmon Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce and Cabbage Slaw

Rub (for 2, 3 oz fillets of salmon)

1 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp berbere
1/4 tsp basil
1/8 tsp oregano

Avocado Cilantro Sauce

1 avocado
3/4 cilantro bunch, bottom stems removed
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs tomatillo salsa
4 scallions (green onion)
juice of 4 limes (or 2 large)
3 cloves garlic
pinch cumin
pinch pepper

Coriander Cabbage Slaw

about 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
3 green onions, sliced thin
2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
drizzle olive oil
1/8-1/4 tsp coriander
salt & pepper (generously ground pepper)

To make

2 3 oz fillets of salmon
3 persian cucumbers, chopped (optional)
corn tortillas
oil for frying

First, make the avocado sauce and slaw. To make the sauce, mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Place in a bowl in the fridge until tacos are ready to assemble.

For the slaw, if cabbage is not already pre-sliced, slice cabbage very thin (1/4” setting on a mandoline) or as thin as you can make it. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients and set aside until ready to assemble.

For the salmon, first make sure it is dry and ready to coat with rub by drying all sides with a paper towel. Next, press rub into flesh side of salmon. It should be a generous amount of rub. Don’t be afraid to pack it on! In a large sauté pan, heat 1-2T oil in a pan. Once hot, place salmon flesh side down, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, and once cool enough to touch, remove skin from salmon and break into bite size pieces.

Lastly, assemble the tacos, avocado sauce first, followed by slaw, and then salmon.

closeup.jpg
closeup5.jpg
closeup4.jpg