A light, colorful summer meal that requires only a brief amount of heat in the kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 12 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium lemon
- Salt
- Pepper
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Queso fresco or feta cheese, optional
- Corn tortillas
Directions
- Remove tails from shrimp by pinching where the very bottom tip of the shrimp meat sits in the tail and pulling the shrimp out. This way you can easily release the shrimp meat that is encased in the tail.
- Chop shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Halve tomatoes, chop cilantro and mince garlic.
- Heat olive oil on medium heat in skillet. Add minced garlic and stir briefly for a few seconds until it starts to brown. Add shrimp and stir occasionally to turn pieces over. The shrimp will get dry if overcooked, so cook until just done – pink and plump. Use a slotted spoon to remove shrimp to a large bowl. (The remaining cooking juices from the shrimp are very flavorful, but too much liquid in your taco filling will make for soggy tacos. If you have a good amount of pan juice and don’t want to waste it, you can reduce it after you remove the shrimp with a few seconds of high heat and add the concentrated liquid to the shrimp.)
- Add tomatoes, cilantro, juice of 1/2 a lemon and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Warm corn tortillas for a few seconds in microwave or with a brief turn on a warm skillet. Wrap tortillas in a clean dishcloth to keep warm.
- Serve tacos with guacamole, salsa and cheese.
Serves four.
Notes
- For the cilantro-averse, feel free to substitute slivered scallions, shallots or sweet onions.
- Sliced or diced avocado on top would be a good substitute for guacamole.
- For a bit of heat, add minced jalapeño or a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
- If you don’t have garlic to cook with the shrimp, onions are good too.
Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.
