Extremely moreish tacos
I first discovered these tacos via seemagetbaked and boy are they good! The burnt orange salsa is fresh, sweet and juicy with a light smokiness. The chipotle sour cream adds creaminess and the squid fries a lovely bite. Extremely moreish taco, perfect with an ice cold beer on the weekend.
Recipe
Serves: 2 (6 to 7 full tacos) | Time: <1h
Ingredients
Squid fries
- 300g squid tubes (about 3 tubes | ~10oz), cut into strips
- Milk
- 1 lime, juice only
- Flour, to coat
- Oil, to deep fry
Burnt Orange Salsa
- 3 spring onions, charred 5 min per side
- 1 red chili, finely diced
- 2 oranges, peeled and diced
- Handful of fresh coriander / cilantro (~10g | ~4oz)
- Salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp chipotle tabasco (depending on your spice preference)
Tortilla
- 3 large tortillas or 6 to 7 small
Method
Prep the squid (5min, rest 15+)
- Cut the squid tubes in half lengthwise, and again in half crosswise (picture 1).
- Cut the squid in 1cm wide strips (picture 1).
- Place squid strips in a bowl and add lime juice and milk to cover (picture 2).
- Rest while you make the other elements.
Make the salsa (15 to 20 min)
- Char the spring onions under the oven grill (about 5min per side).
- Meanwhile, prep the chili and orange:
- Fine dice the chili.
- Peel and dice the oranges (pictures 3 to 7). I recommend segmenting the oranges to remove any chewy and bitter bits and only keep the juicy pulp. To do so: cut the top and bottom of the orange, slice off the skin and pith (white bit between the skin and the pulp) and cut segments between the inner membranes. Roughly dice the segments.
- Once nicely browned, roughly chop the spring onions discarding the roots.
- In a mortar and pestle, crush the spring onion and coriander with a pinch of salt (pictures 8 and 9). Combine well. You can also use a food processor, blender or hand blender, in that case add the olive oil and lime at this stage to ease the blending.
- Add olive oil and lime juice and mix well (picture 9) (skip if already added them in your blender or food processor in step 3).
- Add orange and chili and mix with a spoon (pictures 10 and 11).
- Set aside for later.
Make the chipotle “sour cream” (<5min)
- Mix yogurt and chipotle tabasco.
- Set aside for later.
Prep the tortillas (if applicable) (5min)
- If using large tortillas, cut 2 small tortillas out of each: placing a bowl or lid on the tortilla as a guide (make sure you can get 2 small tortilla out 1 large one using that size bowl). Cut around the bowl/ lid. I recommend stacking the 3 large tortillas onto one another when you cut to quicken the process.
- Briefly heat small tortillas through in a pan or oven.
Cook the squid (5 to 15min)
- Drain the squid and coat in flour. Don’t worry if not perfectly coated (mine certainly is not), the squid will still be delicious and the batter, even loose, will add a nice crunch.
- Fry the squid for 4 to 5 min. Work in batches if needed (I had to do 3 batches with my pan).
- Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
Assemble (5min)
- For each tortilla add about: 1 tbsp of chipotle sour cream, top with a generous serving of squid, and about 1 tbsp of salsa.
- Enjoy!
Substitutions
I highlight here the core of the dish and suggest some possible substitutions to adapt the taco to your preferences, diet and ingredients available to you.
Core: The salsa, so sweet and juicy I would not change a thing. Ready in 15 min.
Substitutions:
| Recipe components | Possible substitutions* |
| Squid fries | • Plain squid (just skip the flour dredge) • Pork |
| Chipotle "sour cream" | • Replace Greek yogurt with sour cream, crème fraiche, heavy cream or fromage blanc. |
The Global Homecook 