Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Shrimp Tacos with Jalapeno Lime Slaw and Corn, Bean, and Avocado Salsa

I came up with this recipe recently when my sister had a bunch of girls down to Palm Beach for her Bachelorette party. I wanted to make a lunch that was fun, easy, and could serve a lot of people (18 to be exact!). I thought a South Florida take on fish tacos would be great. The shrimp can be skewered in advance and frozen (they take about 20 minutes to defrost), and you can prepare almost everything in advance as well. It is a super versatile meal because you can add in a chicken breast or two and slice them up for anyone that doesn't like fish, and you can serve a green salad using the marinade as the dressing so that anyone off the carbs can make their meal into a salad. Everything tastes really fresh and flavorful and it is definitely something I will incorporate into the routine this summer! h/t to my sister Marguerite for the salsa recipe.

The first thing you want to make is the marinade for the shrimp which you can use as salad dressing. You can refrigerate that for as long as you need to (I did mine on a Thursday for a Saturday lunch). The slaw you can make in the morning and let marinate in the fridge until you're ready to serve it, and the corn, bean, and avocado salsa you'll want to make last since it's got the avocados in it. It is also great with tortilla chips as an appetizer. You don't need to marinate the shrimp for too long, but when I am going to make this for dinner I put them in a ziploc or bowl of marinade at least 15 min before cooking, and skewer them right before putting them on the grill. If you have a grill basket you can use that as well.



Shrimp Marinade/Salad Dressing (enough for a pound of shrimp- double if you want salad dressing or more marinade)

Ingredients:
-Juice of 2 limes
-1/4 c olive oil
-1 tbs red wine vinegar
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp each salt and pepper
-1 tsp honey, to taste (for salad dressing only, to cut the acid from the lime juice)

Directions:
-Whisk all ingredients together. Pour over shrimp on skewers or in a bowl. I usually budget about 6-8 shrimp per person.
 Slaw

Ingredients:
-1/2 head of cabbage (I used red, green is fine as well)
-1/2 red onion
-1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-1/2 minced jalapeno, seeds removed (add more or less depending on how spicy you want it and save the other half for the salsa)
-Dressing: whisk together 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tbs honey, juice of 1 lime, and 1/2 tsp each salt, pepper and cumin

Directions:
-Thinly slice the vegetables and toss together with the cilantro and jalapeno
-Toss with the dressing; Salt and pepper to taste.
-Set in fridge until read to serve.



Corn, Bean, and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:
-1 can corn, drained and rinsed
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 red pepper, chopped finely
-1/2 red onion, chopped finely
-1/4 cup chopped cilantro
-1/2 minced jalapeno (remove seeds)
-1 avocado, diced
-Dressing: whisk together the juice of 1 lime, 1 tbs red wine vinegar, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Directions:
-Toss all ingredients together with the dressing. The acid in the dressing will prevent the avocado from turning brown.


Taco Assembly:
-Serve each person a skewer with about 6 shrimp on it. Set out tortillas, the slaw, and salsa. Enjoy!