Feast By Larissa Tempura Flathead Tacos with Pineapple Salsa & Charred Lime

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Preparation time

Cooking time

Serves
makes 4 tacos

Ingredients
Tempura Flathead
1 x 200g Ferguson Australia flathead fillet pack, cut into 4 relatively even pieces
Plain flour, for dusting
Oil, for shallow or deep frying (use a heavy-based pan with at least 5cm of oil)

Tempura Batter
90g plain flour
25g rice flour (approx. 2 tbsp)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup icy cold soda water

Pineapple Salsa
1 cup fresh pineapple, roughly diced into small cubes
¼ red onion, diced
1 small red chilli, finely diced (optional - but the warmth from the chilli creates a beautiful balance!)
Handful of coriander, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
A few pinches of flaky salt, to taste
Optional, but delish: 1 clove of garlic, crushed

To Assemble
4 small flour street tortillas
¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
½ avocado, sliced, cubed or smashed
2 limes, halved and charred cut-side down in a hot pan
Fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Feast By Larissa Tempura Flathead Tacos with Pineapple Salsa & Charred Lime

Method:

  1. Make the salsa: Combine pineapple, red onion, chilli and garlic (if using), coriander and lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt and set aside for the flavours to have a little party while you prepare the fish.
  2. Prepare the tempura batter: Lightly dust the flathead fillets with plain flour and set aside. In a bowl, whisk together both plain flour and rice flour, baking powder, salt and slowly whisk in the icy cold soda water, until just combined – the batter should be ever-so-slightly lumpy and very cold.
  3. Fry the fish: Heat oil in a pan. Dip the floured flathead fillet into the batter and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden and crisp. Important to not overcrowd the pan, I like to work in batches, frying two fillets at a time for complete control.  Drain on paper towel and season immediately with a pinch of flaky salt.
  4. Char the limes and warm the tortillas: In a dry pan, cook lime halves cut-side down until caramelised. Gently warm tortillas for around 10–15 seconds per side, until warmed through.
  1.  Assemble the tacos: Layer avocado, red cabbage, crispy flathead and a generous scoop of that zesty pineapple salsa onto each tortilla. Finish with a squeeze of charred lime and a pinch of coriander leaves. Eat immediately and enjoy!

Buy SA for SA recipe by Feast with Larissa Sewell, shown on Discover Food, Channel 7, Episode 1-31 May 2025.