Take fish tacos to the next level with a bright and healthy sour cherry and mango salsa. Thank you to the Cherry Marketing Institute for helping me to share this recipe with you.
There are times when I'm just not sure how my family is going to react to a new recipe, particularly one that involves an unfamiliar ingredient. It's not that they haven't eaten and loved tart cherries in dried or juice form. Heck, we use the dried ones in everything from nut mixes to wild rice salads and drink the tart cherry juice straight, or in smoothies and sparklers every single day, year round!
But when my boys saw me pull the bag of frozen tart cherries out of the freezer, they didn't know what to think. You may know fresh tart cherries as "sour cherries". Either way, July is harvest time and the fresh tart cherries are at their finest! I figured it was time to introduce my boys to the amazing flavor of the fresh fruit.
If you've tasted sour cherries in the past, it's probably been in a tart, cobbler or preserves. Since we don't eat a ton of desserts around here, I wanted to highlight the cherries in a savory recipe.
There are a couple of fish taco stands that we have fallen in love with, one here in Utah (Lone Star Taqueria) and one in Ventura, California (Spencer Makenzie's). If you're within 50 miles of either of them, make the drive. You won't be sorry. But I can almost guarantee that you won't find a tart cherry and mango salsa at either fish taco joint, which is reason enough to make these tacos at home!
The salsa is a mixture of tart cherries (I used frozen, defrosted ones, but you could also use fresh or canned tart/sour cherries), mango (see my post on How to: Cut a Mango), lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro and a little agave nectar to sweeten things up. Be sure to allow an extra hour for the salsa to rest so that all of the flavors can meld together.
The taco part is as easy as marinating the fish for 15 minutes, baking it in the oven and flaking it into the warm tortillas, with a crumble of queso fresco. They're fantastic for entertaining, but work just as well as a weeknight meal.
[Tweet "Change things up with these Fish Tacos with Tart Cherry and Mango Salsa by @cookincanuck. https://www.cookincanuck.com/2015/07/fish-tacos-with-tart-cherry-mango-salsa-recipe"]
So, what did my family think? Well, I was running my kids around to various activities the first time I made these for dinner. Both boys and my husband texted me to say how much they enjoyed them. "The tacos were awesome, Mum! I loved that salsa." Slam dunk.
For more information on tart cherries and recipe inspiration, be sure to visit the Cherry Marketing Institute site, and follow Choose Cherries on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Other tart cherry recipes:
Tart Cherry & Peach Sparkler
Wild Rice Salad with Chicken, Dried Cherries & Goat Cheese
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Fish Tacos with Tart Cherry & Mango Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
The Salsa:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen thawed pitted tart (sour) cherries*
- 1 mango chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- ½ jalapeno seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
The Tacos:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 ¼ pounds white fish such as cod or mahi mahi
- 6 taco-sized tortillas wheat or corn**
- 6 tablespoons queso fresco or feta cheese
Instructions
The Salsa:
- In a medium glass bowl, stir together the tart cherries, mango, lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro, agave nectar and salt.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the flavors to combine.
The Tacos:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
- In a glass container, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add the fish, turning to coat with the marinade. Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the fish to the lined baking sheet. Discard the marinade.
- Bake until the fish is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets.
- Let the fish rest until it is cool enough to handle, then flake with your fingers or a fork.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Heat each tortilla until warm, about 10 seconds per side.
- Divide the fish, salsa and cheese evenly between the tortillas. Serve.
Notes
**For nutritional information, I used 100 calorie 6-inch flour tortillas. Weight Watchers Points: 3 (Points+), 4 (Old Points)
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post was compensated as part of my brand ambassadorship with the Cherry Marketing Institute. All opinions are my own. This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!
Mairead Rodgers / The Adventures of NutriGirl
I never would've thought of putting tart cherries in salsa! Such an interesting way to use them.
kellie | The Suburban Soapbox
I totally flip over fish tacos but right now...I'm digging the idea of eating that salsa like a salad. Tart cherries are the bomb.
Kim Beaulieu
Such a fabulous recipe, and so unique. I love how you make me crave healthy food, not many people have that affect on me. (grins)
I really dig tart cherries. Any cherries really, but tart are just fun to use. Great farm too, I want to dive right into all those cherries.