Fish tacos… most beloved of foods – second only to pizza for me. Every vacation near the ocean is centered around where I’m going to get the best fish taco for lunch (really, I’m not exaggerating)! But, these aren’t just any fish tacos, although I really do like them all. My favorite combination consists of fresh grilled salmon, mango salsa, and avocado cream. This particular recipe today has been in the makings for a decade now, and it’s underwent several innovations! I started with homemade flour tortillas, moved to deep fried corn tortillas, and eventually I settled into lettuce wraps as my shell.
So, why lettuce instead of regular taco shells?
- They are the easiest (and fastest) shells to make at home – they only require a quick wash in the salad spinner
- They’re healthier (which came about more as a side benefit, and weirdly enough I prefer the healthier option in this case).
Ingredients for these Fish Taco Lettuce Wraps
Fish – I love using salmon, but any fish you love in fish tacos is perfect here from cod to halibut. Lettuce – I call for Butterhead which has a wonderful softness to it that pairs well with the fish. However, it does tear more easily, so green-leaf or red-leaf lettuce works well too. I’ve also gotten tips for readers that they’ve enjoyed these wraps with cabbage leaves. Mango – The ripest mango is always the best, but if you do happen to see Champagne mangos at the store, definitely scoop them up. You’ll recognize them by their yellow skins. Their flavor is incredible, and I’ve found the texture to be less fibrous. But any ripe mango is great here. Avocado – To make this recipe even easier, you can skip the avocado crema as a sauce and just slice up a ripe avocado instead. Salsa Ingredients – For the cilantro, jalapeno, onion, lime juice, etc. freshness is key. While it’s tempting to opt for pre-done convenience, you’ll notice in the final salsa.
Let’s make this recipe step by step
Step 1: First up prep the ingredients for the mango salsa. Step 2: Then mix the salsa together. Season to taste with sea salt, and set it aside to let the flavors meld. Step 3: For the avocado cream, blend everything in a blender until smooth, scraping down the sides once. Transfer the avocado cream to a serving dish. If it’s not a fancy dinner, I usually put my salsa and avocado cream into a Pyrex container. If there are any leftovers, I can just place a lid over the container and put it in the fridge – no extra dirty dishes for me – no sir! Step 4: Next, prepare your salmon for the grill. Lightly drizzle the fillet with avocado or olive oil, and generously sprinkle it with sea salt. Make sure to get some of the oil onto the salmon skin – it keeps it from sticking to the grill. Place the salmon over medium heat and grill for 6-10 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it no longer feels squishy when poked, and there will be some cooked juices appearing at the bottom of the fillet. If you see white cooked juices coming from the top of the fillet – it’s overdone. If you’re unsure, pull 1 fillet off the grill and test it – better safe than sorry! Step 5: Once everything is prepped, serve it all family style. That way each person can assemble their own wraps. For presentation, you can assemble the lettuce wraps and place them on a platter. And you can even pile all these ingredients into your choice of tortillas. There are even some good paleo tortillas (we like Siete) available at the store now that we love with this recipe. I hope you enjoy these Fish Taco Wraps as much as we have! If you do make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below.
