26 Aug fish finger tacos

If you’re feeling fatigued with your regular chicken or beef fajita supper, consider fish. Typically, a fajita is strips of meat grilled or sauteed, while a taco can be in a soft or hard shell filled with meat and cold veggies. I consider these bad boys tacos, because I’ve paired the battered fish with a lovely, speedy salsa and a spicy sriracha mayo.

I recently picked up a pack of ready-battered lemon sole goujons from a good superarket, and put them to great use in the middle of a busy week. I had my 5 year old goddaughter with me for supper and, after our ritual of watching Frozen together  (which is still fresh after the 87th viewing), I baked the frozen goujons in the oven and served them up wrapped in a soft tortilla stuffed with salsa. Thumbs up were given all around.

This week, I’m sharing my simple salsa recipe, which you can add a bit of chilli pepper too if you’re feeling hot. I like my salsa pretty mild, especially when paired with the sriracha mayo. I love the Thai sriracha sauce, but if you’re looking to keep things on a Mexican theme, just replace it with your favourite hot sauce. I’m a big fan of Mic’s Chilli Inferno hot sauces, which are made in Wicklow.

My goddaughter has a very adventurous palate for someone her age, so I can’t guarantee that this will go down as well with the younger folks in your life, but it certainly worked for her as a fun alternative to fish fingers. For me, the key was the quality of the goujons. You could of course make your own battered fish fingers by coating firm, white fish with flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs, and indeed that would make a fun post-Frozen viewing activity for you and the little pal in your life.

Ingredients

220g pack of lemon sole goujons

For the salsa

1 tomato

1 tablespoon of finely chopped red onion

Tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander

Half a lime

Salt

Pepper

For the spicy mayo

3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 tablespoon of Sriracha sauce

To serve

4 soft corn tortillas

Ripe avocado

Method

1. Heat your oven to 220c/200c/gas mark 7. Place the goujons on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15  minutes, or following the pack instructions.

2. Meanwhile, make your tomato salsa by finely dicing the tomatoes and placing in a bowl. Add the finely diced red onion, the freshly chopped coriander and squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Give it a taste and add a little more lime or salt and pepper, as you see fit.

3. Make your spicy mayo by mixing together the mayonnaise and the hot sauce.

4. When the fish goujons are almost ready, wrap your soft tortillas in tin foil and add them to the oven for the last couple of minutes of the fishing cooking, or until the tortillas are heated through but not burnt or crispy.

5. Serve the fish on the tortillas with some tomato salsa, some more fresh coriander and a dollop of the spicy mayo. Add a few lime wedges on the side for additional squeezing.

Store cupboard Essential: Good Quality Fish Goujons

As a rule, fresh is best but if you’re in a pickle and want a fish fix on tap, keep a few packets of good quality fish fingers or goujons in the freezer. I found my lemon sole goujons in Marks & Spencer’s and found them to be crisp and tasty.

This recipe first appeared in The Irish Independent on August 25th 2016