More an idea or a suggestion rather than a hard and fast recipe, these tacos came about on a Sunday evening after a Saturday night dinner of grilled swordfish. Looking in the fridge at our leftovers, I spontaneously decided to turn the small amount of grilled swordfish we still had into tacos. (I’m sure you’ve done this before!) I made up a little batch of Limey Drizzling Sauce, but I didn’t have avocados or cilantro or slaw ingredients on hand. So I quickly sautèed some slivered bell pepper, used baby arugula and a bit of radicchio in place of slaw, and added some chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh herb leaves (mint and oregano) from the garden.

Since I’m more conscious than ever of not wasting food and of the cost of ingredients, I was pleased that this combo turned out to be plenty tasty without me having to go out to the store and buy additional ingredients. If you get satisfaction out of this kind of challenge, too, then feel free to turn any grilled fish, a little sauce or salsa, and warm tortillas into a custom taco with other ingredients you’ve got on hand.

Of course you don’t have to wait for leftover night to make grilled swordfish tacos. If you’re planning ahead, you can make any kind of salsa (tomato peach, tomatillo, chunky olive and sundried tomato, salsa fresca, double cilantro guacamole, salsa verde, to name a few) and Quick Limey Slaw as well. Quick pickles are also great with grilled fish tacos.

You can scale this recipe up, of course, depending on what you’ve got on hand.


Serves 2

 

  • ½ pound (more or less) grilled swordfish, torn or sliced into bite-size pieces, wrapped in foil
  • 1 recipe Limey Drizzling Sauce
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups greens (baby arugula, very thinly sliced radicchio or cabbage)
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 2 to 3 tablespoons slivered sundried tomatoes)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons herb leaves (parsley, cilantro, oregano, chives, or mint)
  • Almost Instant Radish or Red Onion Pickles (optional)
  • Olive oil
  • 1 medium red or orange bell pepper, very thinly sliced 
  • 6 corn tortillas
  • Lime wedges for serving

 

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is hot, put the foil-wrapped swordfish on a sheet tray and put in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until heated through.

2. Set out two dinner plates. Arrange the Limey Drizzling Sauce, greens, cherry tomatoes, herb leaves, and pickles (if using) on your counter near the plates.

3. Put a few teaspoons of olive oil in a small skillet and heat over medium to medium high heat. Add the peppers and cook, stirring until just lightly browned and limp, about 5 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a plate and wipe out the skillet.

4. Return the skillet to the heat and add one tortilla to the pan and toast for a minute or two on each side until lightly brown. Transfer to one of the dinner plates. Repeat with remaining tortillas, transferring them to the plates. (Or just toast 4 of the 6 tortillas now if you prefer.)

5. Put the reheated swordfish near the other ingredients and assemble the tacos, starting with a scattering of greens, followed by a small portion of swordfish and peppers, the tomatoes, a generous drizzle or spoonful of sauce, and a sprinkling of herb leaves. Garnish with pickled onions or radishes if desired and serve right away with a lime wedge. Repeat with remaining