The moment I realized I had all the ingredients I needed to make these tacos happen tonight, I got excited. Probably a little too excited.
Salmon tacos have been on my list of ultimate comfort food since I tried them for the first time a couple years ago at one of my favorite Mexican places called Taco Mesa in Costa Mesa. They serve this incredible salmon taco with a creamy butter sauce along with a mango relish that is to die for. But, at $4/taco I soon realized that I needed to recreate this in my kitchen and save some dough. This recipe is all-the-way-paleo if you just omit the tortilla (replace it with mixed greens!) There’s something so incredibly delicious about salmon with agave and butter as well.
Ingredients (makes 2 servings)
- 2 pieces Wild Salmon
- 2 tbsp butter (I use clarified butter, also called “ghee“)
- 2 tbsp agave syrup
- 3 tomatoes
- 3/4 onion
- handful of cilantro
- 2 yellow mangos
- 1 lime or 1/2 lemon (I like using lemon more and more in my salsas these days)
- salt & pepper to taste
- tortillas (for a treat I use flour tortillas, but tonight I used an Ezekiel flourless tortilla)
Recipe:
1. Chop up the onion, tomato, cilantro and mango and combine in a bowl to make the salsa. Add fresh lime or lemon juice and then salt and pepper to taste.
2. Heat up the grill (I just use a George Foreman) and add the salmon to the grill with the skin still on, face-down. Cook for about 3 minutes on one side, depending on the heat of the grill you’re using. Flip over and continue to cook. You can peel off the skin at this point (Fun fact: salmon skin really grosses me out for some reason… if my hand accidentally touches it I jump, squeal and get really skeeved)
3. Once the salmon has cooked for a few more minutes, I flip it over once more to cook for about a minute on the side that had the skin (so it gets those nice, even grill marks).
4. Meanwhile, I combine the agave syrup and ghee into a small saucepan or frying pan, and melt it together on low heat. I gradually turn up the heat while stirring, allowing the agave to bubble and caramelize.
5. Transfer the salmon to a plate and pour the butter sauce over the salmon.
6. Heat either two small tortillas per person, or one large tortilla. If you have a tortilla skillet, great! If not, you can use the grill or the toaster oven.
7. Add the salmon and salsa on the tortilla and eat!
