Salmon Tacos

Three salmon tacos on a cutting board with bowl full of pickled red onions in background.

These spice rubbed salmon tacos are packed with bold flavours and nutritious ingredients. They are quick to prepare and sure to satisfy… let’s be real, anything in a corn tortilla is sure to be delicious! 

Bowl of pickled red onions.

I don’t eat seafood often, so when I do I prioritize sustainably sourced products that focus on maintaining or improving our ocean ecosystem resilience. Living in the Pacific North West, wild salmon is still a reality. And although I’m hesitant when it comes to eating seafood, I do eat wild caught salmon from time to time. A nutrient dense food, wild salmon is low in mercury and contains more vitamin D and omega-3 fats (specifically DHA and EPA) than farmed salmon.

These long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are important for brain function and development, and heart health (among other things), and cannot be synthesized by the human body. Therefore they must be obtained through the diet and are found exclusively in seafood and marine algae.

There are many problems with open net-cage farmed salmon, from locations existing along wild salmon migration routes exposing wild fish to diseases, parasites and escapees, to feed derived from forage fish (yes we are catching fish to feed fish), corn and soy. In the NPR Fresh Air podcast, Paul Greenberg brought up a really interesting point that in general you should be buying frozen vacuum sealed wild salmon, because the window for fresh caught salmon is limited to June, July and August. So next time you are at the store looking for salmon, I encourage you to ask or look for wild caught salmon.

Here are a few great resources to help you navigate the complicated world that is sustainable seafood:

 

Three salmon tacos on a cutting board with bowl of pickled red onions in background.

Salmon Tacos
Serves 4

Avocado ‘Crema’

  • 2 avocados
  • 1/4 cup water
  • juice from 1 lime
  • 1 jalapeño
  • handful cilantro
  • pinch salt

Pickled Red Onion

  • 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Salmon

  • 1.5 lbs (24oz.) wild caught salmon filet (I used frozen and let thaw in fridge overnight)
  • 1 Tbsp. paprika
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Toppings

  • 1/4 medium cabbage, thinly sliced
  • limes, cut into quarters
  • cilantro, roughly chopped
  • about 24-32 small corn tortillas (homemade, or store bought)

Avocado ‘Crema’: Blend all ingredients together (I use my immersion blender), season with more salt or lime to taste. For a runnier sauce add more water.

Pickled Red Onions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Turn off heat and add sliced onions, cover and let sit 2 minutes. Drain and then transfer to a bowl along with vinegar, water and salt. Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Salmon: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place salmon on foil lined or lightly oiled baking tray. Make sure to gently run your fingers over salmon flesh and remove any remaining bones with tweezers.

Mix spices and salt together, and spread evenly over salmon. Place in oven and bake 10-15 minutes (depending on how thick your pieces of fish are). Check the fish after 10 minutes and cook longer if necessary. Make sure not to over cook, you want the fish to be flaky and moist. Let cool for a few minutes, then flake with two forks.

To assemble tacos layer salmon, sliced cabbage and pickled red onion into tortilla, then top them off with the avocado ‘crema’ and a squeeze of lime. Buen Provecho!

 

 

 

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