In partnership with Safeway
Sometimes, making a quick, simple and easy dinner is what is called for. It doesn’t always have to be elaborate and over the top- elevated comfort food can certainly hit the spot!
We recently stopped by our local Safeway grocery store to get some simple seafood taco inspiration. The just for U™️ deals and rewards program has been sending us some amazing deals and the seafood deals for Lent (which starts tomorrow) were too good to pass up. We started in the produce department to find the perfect ingredients for some simple salsas. Because every delicious dish is made better with a tasty sauce or salsa!
Produce
In the produce department, we picked up a gorgeous juicy mango, limes, red onions, serrano peppers and cilantro for a mango-serrano salsa. And then we grabbed some perfect avocados (there’s nothing like cutting open a perfect avocado), jalapenos and Campari tomatoes to make a simple avocado salsa. We also got a small head of cabbage, which when sliced thinly makes for the perfect base for shrimp tacos.
For a sauce, we made a plan to combine many of the ingredients we had already picked (jalapeno, cilantro and avocado) for a quick creamy sauce.
Then, on to the seafood department for the perfect protein.
Seafood
At the seafood counter, we were drawn to some beautiful swordfish steaks that were hand-cut by the fishmonger in the store. As swordfish is a mildly-sweet fish with a meaty texture when cooked, it seemed like the perfect option for some substantial tacos. With a little seasoning and a short time on the grill, it would flake perfectly for the tacos we were envisioning.
And because one type of taco is never enough, we stopped at the frozen seafood department and grabbed a box of breaded, butterflied shrimp. Easily baked on a cookie sheet in the grill while the swordfish cooks, they would be the perfect accompaniment to our Taco Thursday cook.
Cooking up Dinner
This dinner came together incredibly quickly and was delicious. We started by preheating the Traeger grill to 375°. While the grill got hot, we whipped up the variety of salsas and toppings for the tacos.
Mango-Serrano Salsa
- 1 ripe mango, diced into 1/4″ cubes
- the juice of one lime
- 1/2 a serrano pepper (taste for heat), thinly sliced and chopped
- 1 tsp red onion, thinly sliced and chopped
- 1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside to let the flavors meld while you made the rest of the stuff.
Avocado-Tomato Salsa
- 1 ripe avocado, diced into 1/4″ cubes
- 1 Campari tomato, diced into 1/4″ pieces
- 1/4 a jalapeno, in small dice
- the juice of one lime
- 1 tsp red onion, in small dice
- 1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- a dash each of garlic powder, cumin and salt
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
Cabbage Slaw
Combine cabbage and red onion in a bowl and toss to distribute.
Creamy Fish Taco Sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/4 an avocado, peeled and without the seed
- juice of half a lime
- 1/4 a jalapeno, roughly chopped
In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Season with salt to taste and set aside.
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When the grill is hot, place the swordfish steak on a piece of parchment paper and season with your preferred taco seasoning. Arrange the frozen shrimp on a small cookie sheet lined with parchment.
Place both in the grill and cook for about 10 minutes. Then flip the shrimp and check the internal temperature of the swordfish with a thermometer. You want to achieve an internal temperature of 135°.
Cook for another 5-10 minutes, then bring in the fish and shrimp to assemble the tacos!
Taco Assembly
For this easy dinner, we heated up some uncooked flour tortillas and arranged them on a cutting board. Two different types of tacos were on our agenda.
Taco #1: Swordfish with mango-serrano salsa
- Flour tortilla, some of the creamy fish taco sauce, large flakes of swordfish, then topped with a heaping spoonful of the mango-serrano salsa
Taco #2: Crispy Shrimp
- Flour tortilla, some of the creamy fish taco sauce, a pile of shredded cabbage, three crispy shrimp (tails removed), avocado-tomato salsa and a sprinkling of cotija cheese
Keeping this dinner simple, we left everything on the cutting board and gathered around the counter to enjoy the tacos in a casual manner. Fewer dishes in the end and everyone could add some more salsa or sauce to their tacos if desired.
The key to this dinner was simplicity. It came together super fast, was delicious, and everyone could craft a taco that they desired. Give it a try!
