These Fish Tacos take their inspiration from an ages old story. The link between corn tortillas to the culinary heritage of Mexico is undeniable, since pre-Colombian times already had tortillas aplenty. In 1642, Salomón de Machorro (aka Juan de León, famous for his travels and knowledge of Judaism) was denounced by Catalina de Rivera for having consumed corn tortillas with fish and vegetables with his friends for Passover. This dish is a tribute to the intrepid Señor de Machorro.
Salomón De Machorro’s Fish Tacos
Description
Make your tortillas from scratch too…
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1⅓ cup hot water
- 1 tsp olive oil
For the fish and sauce:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 red onions, sliced very thinly
- ½ lb fresh white fish, cut into bite-size cubes
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
- Sliced radish, purple cabbage, and green onions, optional
Instructions
For the dough:
- To make the dough, mix corn flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and the hot water and mix with a spoon until all the water is absorbed.
- Make golf ball-sized dough balls (1⅛ oz each). Let them rest on a plate for 20 minutes, covered so they do not dry.
- To flatten and cook the tortillas, you can use a tortilla press if you have one: remember to put the dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic so it does not stick to the press. Place it in the center of the bottom part of the press, then open it and carefully, and with the palm of your hand remove the tortilla from the parchment sheet. If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can use the bottom of a heavy saucepan and press down hard. Again, do not forget the parchment paper!
- Cook in a preheated (medium-high heat) nonstick skillet for 20 seconds. Then flip the tortilla over and cook the other side for 20 more seconds. Repeat the operation once more until the tortilla has golden-brown marks. Keep the tortillas in a plastic bag, not completely closed, while you make the filling.
For the fish and sauce:
- Put half of the olive oil, garlic, and red onion in a frying pan. Cook for 10 minutes on low-medium heat until golden.
- Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the olive oil and once warm, add the fish Cook until almost done and then add the lime juice. Add salt and black pepper. Cover the frying pan and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the chopped fresh cilantro and chives.
- Fill the corn tortillas with the delicious fish and the juices and enjoy.
Recipes appear in Jawhara-Piñer’s books, Matzah and Flour: Recipes from the History of the Sephardic Jews, and Sephardi: Cooking the History. Recipes of the Jews of Spain and the Diaspora, from the 13th Century to Today. To dig deeper into Jewish food history, read Jawhara-Piñer’s Jews, Food, and Spain: The Oldest Medieval Spanish Cookbook and the Sephardic Culinary Heritage.
Recipe and Story by Hélène Jawhara-Piñer
Food Styling and Preparation by Julia Platt Leonard
Photography by Gabriella Marks
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.
