I feel like most people don't like making fish tacos at home because they don't want to fry. But contrary to popular belief, a good fish taco doesn't need to be battered and cooked in a vat of oil. To prove this, we tested two recipes by two chefs we trust deeply: Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver. (And then, of course, we pit them against each other and chose a winner.)
GORDON'S RECIPE
This recipe is from Gordon's newest cookbook book Healthy, Lean & Fit. It couldn’t be easier and comes together in less than a half hour.
First, you make a spicy sauce by stirring chipotle chili paste into plain yogurt. Then whisk together flour, cumin, and paprika, and lightly coat both sides of fish in the mixture. Finally, sear the fish in a bit of coconut oil, flake it up, and serve it with tortillas, shredded cabbage, chopped avocados, red onion, lime wedges, and spicy mayo.
In Gordon’s opinion, everyone is capable of building his or her own taco, and we couldn’t agree more.
JAMIE'S RECIPE
This recipe is far more complicated. First, Jamie wants to make make your own tortillas. This step is annoying in itself (because tacos are supposed to be fast!), but it's even more frustrating because the tortillas are WHOLE WHEAT. Admittedly, they're pretty easy to make, but they taste very healthy. 😒
The Naked Chef also makes his own quick pickled cabbage (yum!) and salsa verde. You may be thinking Cool! I really should be making my own salsa...until you find out if involves CHARRED KIWI. What were you bloody thinking, Jamie?!
But that’s not all that peeved us. His instructions for cooking the fish were hard to follow. In his written recipe, you’re asked to slice the fish into strips then toss it with sliced bell peppers, the whites of springs onions, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then you need to cook it in a dry nonstick pan. He does call for firm white fish (such as haddock), but even still, without a thin layer of oil, it’s hard to sauté it as you would chicken fajitas. Watch his YouTube video and you’ll see he actually sears each piece individually, which makes sense, but annoys us further that this method
THE VERDICT
Gordon wins! Though very simple, his fish was bursting with flavor, and taste testers were more than happy with his topping choices. Sadly, all the work that went into Jamie’s tacos went unnoticed. Our judges weren’t even so annoyed by the tortillas. Despite the vinegary cabbage, kiwi salsa, and sautéed veggies, they wanted more flavor. Lesson learned? Simple is better.
*To all you of you who strongly feel that fried food is always better, I hear you. And I can assure you that a baja-style fish taco snackdown is almost guaranteed to be in your future. So STAY TUNED.
