Tasty Taco Tuesday

I love a good alliteration and I love a good taco, so I’m bringing you an easy, tasty recipe, perfect for any time of year. 

During this quarantine, we have tried to do takeout from one local dining establishment every week. Several weeks ago, The Standard Pour in Sonora offered Taco Tuesday, and we did a big order to share with the neighbors. We got shrimp, carne asada, grilled chicken and pork. All the proteins, as well as the accompaniments, came in individual containers and we built our own. We ate everything and enjoyed every bite.

This week I wanted to do my own Taco Tuesday. I had some frozen shrimp I’d bought on sale and a recipe I wanted to try for honey-chipotle shrimp tacos. So, I defrosted two pounds of shrimp and set out to make my own tortillas. 

You’re saying, “What?!?!?” This meal is supposed to be easy.”

The recipe overall is definitely easy. I certainly don’t expect you to make your own tortillas. I just had some time on my hands and happened to have some masa flour left from making tamales, so I thought I’d give it a go. And to be perfectly honest, most store-bought corn tortillas are actually really good and probably beat mine all to hell, especially as I didn’t have a tortilla press and if I described how I made them so perfectly round you would laugh your ass off. But I digress….

This meal is super simple, taking about 10 minutes of prep and 4-5 minutes to cook. Can’t beat that! Now, the shrimp have a little kick to them, so this may not be the best option for small children, but adults will gobble these tacos up. I served them with some homemade black beans, but they’d also be great with some grilled corn on the cob and charred green onions, or plain old refried beans. (Actually, they’d probably be good with burnt cauliflower or overcooked peas, they’re just that good.)

The shrimp is served with a nice avocado crema, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced onion and cabbage. Some nice slivered radishes would also be delicious

The recipe serves 4, but it can easily be doubled to serve 8, which is what you will want to do when this whole quarantine is over. In fact, throw in some ice-cold beer and frosty margaritas to wash it all down with and toast to your survival!

Note: The recipe calls for medium-large shrimp, which run about 31-40 per pound. I often get larger shrimp on sale and there’s no reason not to use them. You can either cut them in half lengthways or in thirds crossways…whatever is easier.

Honey-Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

1 pound medium-large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 tablespoons adobo (from a can of chipotles in adobo*)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil

1/2 head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

3 limes, cut in wedges

Salt

1 avocado

1/2 cup each sour cream and mayonnaise 

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

Corn tortillas

Make the shrimp marinade by mixing the adobo sauce and honey. Toss in your shrimp and stir to thoroughly coat all the shrimp. Set aside. 

To make the avocado crema, mash the avocado and then sprinkle with the juice of half of a lime and a bit of salt. Mix in the sour cream and mayo and stir until no lumps remain. 

Take the thinly sliced onions and toss with lime juice from 2 of the lime wedges and a half teaspoon of salt.

Next, you’ll want to heat your tortillas—on the stove, on the grill or in the microwave—and keep warm. 

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick fry pan on medium-high. When it gets hot, gently toss in your shrimp and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook time will be dependent on how hot your pan is, how crowded the shrimp are, and how large the shrimp pieces are. The shrimp is done when it has turned completely pink. 

Top a warm tortilla with your shrimp, a squirt of lime juice, a good dollop of the avocado crema, then the onions, cilantro and cabbage. Dig in and prepare to be amazed!

Serves 4

*You can use the leftover chipotles in this delicious Chipotle Cream Sauce, an all-purpose sauce that has some heat to it. I have used it in all varieties of Mexican dishes, from tacos to burritos and as a dressing for taco salads. It also works well as a pasta sauce and a dip for chips.