TACO NIGHT!

My name is Lia & I am a mexican food addict. Phew- just had to get that out there!
Seriously though, you've caught me right in the middle of a another food obsession. I get these ALL the time, but this one has gone on and on, and to be honest, it shows no sign of waning, and thank goodness for that as I don't want it to. Ever!
I think it all started when I watched Sir Jamie of Oliver make this on TV one night. I went out & got the Jamie's America book the very next day & I got shredding! To say it blew my socks off is an understatement - i fell in LOVE!

From that moment, my mexican obsession snowballed. Fajita's, natchos, burritos, tostadas, salads, beans, salsa's - you name it, i wanted it! But then the best thing happened - I discovered taco's - proper taco's. I say proper taco's because in the past i'd always been put off them in the past because of those disgusting unappetising pictures on those mexican kit boxes you get in the supermarkets. They look like a giant curved dorrito. It looked like it would snap into a million pieces whenever i took a bite & i'd be left with a mouth full of crisps when i was trying to eat a meal. Urgh, no thanks, i'm not up for that!
Anyway, whilst reading my fave foodie blog Shutterbean, I found this taco night party & found that it was easy to make your own shell's using some good quality tortilla wraps. Score! So, it was that discovery, along with this awesome Pico de Gallo recipe, that sealed my fate, and my new favourite meal was born. That night we feasted on shrimp taco's with pico de gallo & black beans. It was awesome & now we have a taco night at least once a week as a RULE! Is that weird? Maybe, but I couldn't give a flying tortilla as it is just so so good.
This week we had fish taco's using cod loins. They were good, but i'm not going to lie to you - king prawns work 100 times better.

So, this is how a Taco night for two goes in my kitchen...


1. For lazy black beans:
- empty a can of black beans into a saucepan (that's the lazy part)
- add 2 crushed garlic cloves
- add 4 corriander stalks
- simmer for about 15-20 minutes. (or long enough so they are not watery)

2. Marinate:
- take either 500g of raw king prawns, or 2 fillets of chunky white fish
- in a bowl add a sprinkle of sea salt
- add the juice of a lime
- add a few shakes of a hot sauce of your choice
- set aside

3. Next up, make your Pico De Gallo:
You will need:
- 12 cherry tomatoes - quartered
- 2 tablespoons of corriander leaves
- 3 tablespoons of finely diced white onion
- 1 fresh red chilli - deseeded & chopped
- fresh sea salt
- juice of 1/2 - 1 lime

Simply combine your toms, corriander, onion & chilli. Then sprinkle with your salt & dress with your lime. How easy is that? C'mon!

4. Make your shells:
You will need 8 flour tortilla's
- heat a large frying pan on your hottest hob. Get it REAL hot!
- when it's hot place one tortilla on, and using tongs keep peaking underneath until you see it starting to crisp & have a few brown spots.
- turn over & repeat for the other side.
- once ready, take off the heat & fold in half. I use the end of a wooden spoon to create the shell shape.

5. Grill your fillings:

6. Gather your sides! Hot sauce is a MUST! Cholula is my fave.

7. Load up your shell!

Flake your fish (or scatter your prawns) & fill!

That's the happiest little taco i've ever seen. Look! It's smiling :)

So there you have it, perfection on a plate! Enjoy x