Sydney is known for its summers. In summer it is a glorious place with vibrant blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and beautiful beaches. Backpackers travel from every corner of the globe to experience a summer in Sydney.
With an extremely wet winter behind us, our hopes for a glorious summer this year was extremely high. To ring in the summer our friends, Cal and Jo, recently hosted a fiesta Mexicana party and promised, among other things, Mexican beer, margaritas, nachos, tacos, guacamole and corn salsa. While no-one officially stated we were to arrive dressed Mexicana style for the party, everyone arrived wearing sombreros which added to the fun.
Prior to the party Jo asked me to make my guacamole and corn salsa and I was happy to oblige. I love making guacamole and corn salsa, they are both so simple and easy to make, require no cooking and can be eaten alone or with a wide variety of other food.
Scotty is pretty well known for his fish tacos, so we all agreed that along with my corn salsa and guacamole, we would bring all of the fixings for fish tacos and Scotty would make them for the guests.
The night was a blast with much alcohol and great food consumed. Despite the fact that it was a welcome to summer party, the night got rather cold so at about 8:30pm we fired up the backyard brazier put on our leather jackets and coats and sat around the fire telling tales.
The guacamole, corn salsa and fish tacos were a huge success and along with the mountains of other food provided by the hosts and brought by the guests, we left full, drunk and happy (luckily we live close by and could stumble home easily).
GUACAMOLE & TORTILLA CHIPS
GUACAMOLE
2 ripe avocados
1/2 large red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
Handful coriander, finely chopped
1 Roma tomato, deseeded and chopped finely
1 lime, juiced
Splash of Tabasco sauce
Salt & pepper
TORTILLA CHIPS
6 large tortillas
Olive oil spray
Smoked paprika
Remove the flesh from the avocado, place in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Add tomato, chilli, coriander and mix well. Add lime, Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste.
To make the tortilla chips, cut round tortillas into thin triangles. Spray olive oil on a baking tray and lay out the tortilla pieces on the tray without overlapping them (you might need a few trays for this). Spray the top of the pieces with oil and sprinkle with paprika.
Place in the oven and cook until tortilla pieces are lightly browned. Remove from oven, allow to cool and serve with the guacamole (the chips will become crunchy as they cool).
CORN SALSA
3 ears of sweet corn, husk on
1 avocado, flesh cut in squares
Handful coriander, finely chopped
1/2 large red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
1/4 Spanish onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt and pepper
Place corn in the microwave with the husks on and cook on high allowing 3 minutes for each ear of corn (3 ears of corn = 9 minutes).
Remove corn from the microwave and leave to cool. Once cool, cut off cooked corn kernals and put in a large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients, stirring till well combined. Add lime and salt and pepper to taste.
FISH TACOS
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1 cup guacamole
2 cups corn salsa
1 bunch coriander
3 Basa fillets
Rice bran oilÂ
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
12 hard taco shells
12 soft tortillas
Cut fish fillets into 12 small taco sized pieces. Place flour in one bowl, eggs and milk in another and breadcrumbs in a third. Taking a piece of fish coat it in the flour, then dip in the egg and finally coat with bread crumbs and set aside. Repeat with all remaining fish pieces.
Mix sour cream, creme fraiche and a small handful of finely chopped coriander in a bowl, and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat 1/4 cup rice bran oil in a heavy skillet and when hot fry crumbed fish pieces on either side till golden on the outside and cooked in the middle (about 2-3 minutes each side) then set aside and keep warm.
Place hard tacos in a preheated oven till hot. At the same time, cook the soft tortillas in the microwave as per the packet instructions.
Once fish is cooked and the tacos and tortillas are heated you are ready to serve.
To serve, take one hard taco in hand and place a spoonful of guacamole in the bottom, then a spoonful of sour cream mixture on top. Place a cooked piece of fish on top to one side and then add a large spoonful of corn salsa beside it. Top with coriander and then wrap the whole hard taco in a soft tortilla.
The trick to these tacos is the soft tortilla which keeps all the filling of the taco together when you bite into it and break the hard taco – Genius!
I love me a good mexican feed. It really can be so light and refreshing – perfect for a summer feed!
So do I! The corn salsa is my favourite, you'll be suprised how many meals it can accompany.