Salmon, Avocado and Corn Tortillas

Right now it is hot. Extremely hot. Like, sticky, sweaty, way-too-hot-to-turn-an-oven-on-just-need-water hot. Days like this have been frequent since Christmas – unusual for Auckland, where they ordinarily seem (to me, anyway) to occur only a few times a year. This summer has definitely outdone itself. However, I clearly have not been looking at the forecast and taking my own advice: bread dough was made last night, is currently rising in the fridge, and will be made this evening into pizzas. Though I am sure they will be delicious, all I can think about is that I will need to crank up the oven as hot as possible – SO not ideal. Days like today call for these instead – beautiful, cool, no-oven-required, corn, avocado and salmon tortillas.
I got my planning wrong and made these tacos two nights ago, on an evening with wind chill cold enough to force our outdoor dinner inside – perfect pizza weather, in other words. Anyway, you should try these tonight. Or tomorrow. Or any other day, to be perfectly honest. The perfect mix of rich and crispy blackened salmon, creamy avocado and juicy summer corn, all offset by a chilli lime tomato salsa on homemade barbecue tortillas – what is not to love?!
The tomato salsa can be made ahead, as can the corn salad. The tortillas are much easier than they look, and will thoroughly impress with how much better they are than any store bought tortilla ever was, while the salmon is coated with cajun spices and barbecued briefly to crisp the outside while remaining meltingly tender on the inside.
The recipe is inspired from various sources: the tomato salsa adapted from an Annabel Langbein cookbook, the corn salad altered from one of Al Brown’s, the tortillas taken from Ripe Deli’s second book, and the salmon my own. Magic, I tell you.
Anyway, after all these photos and trying desperately to describe its deliciousness (which I think is impossible and I am starting to gush so will stop now), all I can say is MAKE THESE. You will not regret it.

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Salmon, Avocado and Corn Tortillas

Prep Time

1 hr 20 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

1 hr 40 mins

 

Tomato salsa adapted from Annabel Langbein, corn and avocado salad adapted from Al Brown, and the tortillas adapted from those of Ripe Deli.

Course: Main

Servings: 6 -8 people

Author: Claudia Brick

Ingredients

Tomato Salsa

• 6-8 ripe tomatoes (depending on size and hunger)
• 4 tablespoons coriander , chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion , finely diced
• 1 red chilli , deseeded and finely diced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• black pepper to season

Corn and Avocado Salad

• 2 red capsicum
• 5 cobs corn , husks removed
• 2-3 avocados , peeled, stones removed and cut into small chunks
• 3/4 cup coriander , roughly chopped
• 1/2 red onion , finely diced
• zest and juice of 2-3 limes
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Tortillas

• 675 g plain flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 450 ml room temperature water

Salmon

• 6 x 150-200g pieces of salmon
• 3 teaspoons cajun seasoning
• 3 tablespoons olive oil to cook

Instructions

Tomato Salsa

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl at least half an hour before serving to allow flavours to combine. Taste for seasoning.

Corn and Avocado Salad

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the corn.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Roast the capsicum on a tray for about 10min or until the skin starts to blacken and blister. Remove from oven - the skin should wrinkle up. Once cool, peel off the skin and dice the capsicum into 1cm pieces.
3. Boil the corn in the pot for 5 minutes to cook. Leave to cool slightly, then slice the kernels off the cob.
4. In a large bowl, put the capsicum, corn, avocado, coriander, and red onion.
5. In a small cup or ramekin, mix together the lime zest and juice and the olive oil. You can make the recipe ahead up to this step (but hold off chopping the avocado until the end to avoid it browning).
6. Toss the corn mixture with the lime-olive oil dressing just before serving.

Tortillas

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly. Gradually add the water, mixing it together with your fingers until the dough is soft and all the flour is combined. Sometimes I end up with a little bit of water left over.
2. Knead the dough for a minute to bring it all together. Add a bit more flour if it seems too sticky.
3. Divide the dough into golf ball sized balls (see pictures above).
4. When almost ready to cook, roll out the tortillas on a floured board with a rolling pin, turning and flipping the dough to make it as circular as you can.
5. Place the tortillas on a plate separated with baking paper/greaseproof paper and dusted with flour to prevent them from sticking together.

Assembly

1. Rub the cajun spices into the flesh side of the salmon. On a barbecue plate or a large pan on a low heat, add the olive oil and then cook the salmon flesh side down first for 8-10 minutes or until it is just starting to flake. Flip onto the other side and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the salmon is medium rare. This may take much less time if your barbecue or pan is hotter, so watch it carefully.
2. Cook the tortillas on barbecue hot plates or in a heavy based frying pan (but wipe down the barbecue with paper towels if you are cooking it after the salmon!). We cook the salmon first, then rest it on the bars above the barbecue to keep it warm while we cook the tortillas, but you could also cover the salmon in tin foil on a plate to keep warm while you cook the tortillas if using the same surfaces. You do not need any oil for the tortillas - a dry pan is ideal. Cook over a high heat - the tortilla should start to puff up. When browned underneath, flip over to cook the other side. This shouldn't take much more than 1 minute each. Keep the tortillas on a plate covered with a tea towel to stay warm while you cook the rest.
3. Just before serving, toss the corn salad and flake the salmon with a fork. Serve the tortillas with the salmon, corn and avocado salad, and tomato salsa. Enjoy!