Saucy Fish Tacos and Scuba Diving

I remember the first time I saw fish tacos on a menu, my thought was yuck, fish taco, REALLY.   Boy have I eaten those words.  I love FISH TACOS and they are now my go to for lunch.  It took Eric, our dive captain to convince me to try them.   2 years ago, just after I started working for Hilton Worldwide, we decided to take advantage of some of the perks and drive down to Key Largo.

After our first day of diving, with Blue Water Divers, we asked  Eric where to go for lunch.  

 By the way, if you are in Key Largo, looking to scuba or snorkel, we HIGHLY recommend Eric and Christi, they are AWESOME!!!

 Eric suggested we try Sharkey's, it is just a short walk down the canal from their dive boat, and he said I had to try the fish tacos.  I was starving by the time we got to the table, all I wanted was a beer and a sandwich with FRENCH FRIES!!

I gotta admit, fish did sound good, I had just spent the last 2 hours swimming through schools of yellow tail snapper.  And, Eric had showed us an incredible day of diving, so I thought I would trust him on the tacos. (and steal some of Gordy's fries)  They were incredible, VERY saucy, just like me!  I have to have them EVERY TIME we go to Key Largo.  

Over the last couple of months, I have been trying to duplicate the recipe at Sharkey's, and last night, I came pretty close.  These are a little spicier than Sharkey's, but I like my food "Hot, hot, hot".

I made a Chipotle-Cilantro Sauce by combining 2 chipotle peppers with some of the adobo sauce, 1/2 cup cilantro, the juice of one key lime, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of garlic salt in my food processor.  I blended it well and put it in the fridge to flavor.  

Just before dinner, I sprinkled 2 grouper fillets with some



Old Bay Blackened Seasoning and seared them in my cast iron skillet, turning after about 2 minutes. 

 I heated 4 flour tortillas in the microwave and filled them with some shredded cabbage, cheese and the fish.  I topped it all with the chipotle sauce.  Next time (lunch this weekend) I am going to also add some sliced avocado and maybe some mango salsa, I think it would compliment the heat of the sauce.  If you feel you need to "lighten" up the sauce, I would suggest using lite sour cream and mayo.  And if you don't like your sauce with a lot of kick, use just one chipotle pepper and a little less sauce.

Chipotle-Cilantro Sauce for Fish Tacos
(print recipe)

Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Garlic Salt
1-2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, to taste
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro, or to taste

Using your food processor or blender, purée all ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to use.