Hello there, my new favorite taco. Also known as vegetarian fish tacos, if you’d rather. The crispy, white fleshed-cauliflower is a perfect replacement for the fish, when you can’t find fresh fish or don’t want to stink up your apartment or just don’t feel like seafood. Cauliflower takes surprisingly well to the same toppings that you’d normally find on a fish taco, namely, bright and tangy mango salsa, freshly shredded red cabbage, creamy avocado, and a drizzle of Mexican crema (or, if you can’t find crema, simply whisk a few tablespoons of milk into regular sour cream to thin it out. Think drizzle, not dollop).
We made these a few times until we settled on the final method. We tried baked and fried and buttered and oiled, but ultimately found that a quick pan-fry in some olive oil gave the nicest flavor and crunch to the cauliflower. Still, a handful of panko breadcrumbs thrown in for good measure doens’t hurt. It’s the perfect amount of savory crunch for a taco (because, let’s face it, a taco without some crunch is like an ice cream sundae without sprinkles, just not as exciting). You won’t even notice the lack of fish.
But, I’ll admit, what took these tacos over the top was the homemade tortillas. We’ve started making our own recently, both corn and flour, and it’s amazing how much flavor a good tortilla brings to the final dish versus what you can buy in the store. I’ll be posting the recipe for homemade flour tortillas soon, and believe me, it’s worth the (minimal) extra effort!
