Not Just Greens: Mexican-Style Spicy Fish Nacho Salad

Not your usual salad concoction, this Mexican-inspired dish puts pan-fried fish with crispy nachos, and a healthful heap of cabbage, carrots and beans. 

Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Difficulty Level: 3/5

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for shallow frying, plus 2 tbsps extra
• 8 small white corn tortillas (200 g)
• ⅓ cup (60 g) rice flour
• 2 tbsps Mexican chilli powder
• 600 g firm white skinless fish fillets, cut into long pieces
• ¼ cup (60 ml) lime juice
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 long red chillies, sliced thinly lengthways
• ½ small red cabbage (400 g), shredded
• 2 medium carrots (240 g), julienned
• 400 g can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
• 2 small avocados (400 g), mashed
• ½ medium red onion (85 g), sliced thinly
• ½ cup coriander leaves

Steps

01. Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat until oil reaches 180 C on a thermometer or breadcrumbs turn light golden in 1 min.

02. Using a 7 cm cutter, cut three rounds from each tortilla; you should have 24 rounds in total. Shallow-fry tortilla rounds, in batches, turning halfway, for 2 mins or until golden and crisp on both sides. Drain on paper towel.

03. Combine rice flour and chilli powder in a shallow bowl; toss fish in flour mixture, shake off excess. Shallow-fry fish in same pan, in batches, turning halfway, for 3 mins or until crisp and golden on both sides and cooked through.

04. To make dressing, combine lime juice, extra oil, sugar and half the chilli in a screw-top jar; season to taste. Shake well.

05. Place cabbage, carrot and beans in a medium bowl with half the dressing; toss gently to combine.

06. Divide cabbage salad among bowls; top with onion, fish, avocado, remaining chilli and the coriander, then drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve with tortilla rounds.

TIP

We used flathead fillets in this recipe. Cut the fish fillets lengthways on the diagonal into 2cm wide, 12cm long strips. Serve topped with sour cream. Adjust the amount of Mexican chilli powder to suit your liking.If you like, omit making your own tortilla chips in step 2 and serve with store-bought tortilla strips instead.

Photo: bauersyndication.com.au