You Had Me at Tacos

My grandmother on my dad’s side was old school. She was a meat and potatoes kind of lady of Scotch-Irish descent. All other food was of no interest to her. Other cuisines didn’t come up much in conversation, but I do remember she considered tacos a snack, not a meal. I am not sure why that amuses me, but it does.

A couple generations later, my family loves tacos. They are fast, easy and can be extremely versatile. You can have them for any meal, even breakfast. They do make a mean snack, too. We like classic ground beef tacos, chicken, and even fish. This week, I thought I would whip up some shrimp tacos.

I needed something fast, but also something that would use up some of the leftover produce in my fridge. Things have gone seriously amuck in there. Anyway, I found a recipe online for Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa. Perfect. This would help use up some cabbage and pineapple and be a great way to serve the frozen Argentinian Shrimp I bought at Aldi.

They are fast and easy to pull together. The pineapple salsa can be made well ahead of time, or thrown together just as you start dinner prep. Dice a cup of fresh pineapple, half a cup of red pepper, half of a jalapeño and 1/4 cup of Cilantro. Squeeze the juice of a lime over it all and stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or while you prep the rest of your meal.

While the flavors mingle in your salsa, you can chop or shred some purple cabbage. Set that aside until you are ready to assemble your tacos.

If your shrimp isn’t already thawed, place frozen shelled, deveined shrimp into a colander and run cold water over them until they begin to thaw. Keep the shrimp moving under the water until completely thawed. Then pop them into a frying pan with some heated olive oil. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt, pepper and chili powder. Toss the shrimp again and sprinkle some more spices on them. I added the juice of half a lime. Cook until the shrimp turn the palest shade of pink and are opaque. Do not overcook the shrimp or they will become chewy.

The recipe calls for corn tortillas. Fill the bottom of the tortillas with some cabbage, then the shrimp and top with the pineapple salsa. Garnish with lime wedges and more cilantro if desired.

Corn tortillas have great flavor but tend to fall apart. Another blogger I recently read suggested using 2 corn tortillas to help hold the tacos together. I tried that this time. They still fell apart. I have heard from fellow foodie friends that the secret to helping corn tortillas hold together is to fry them in a skillet a bit on each side. I was in a rush, so I didn’t try that this time. I definitely will next time.

These tacos offer a ton of flavor and are extremely healthy. There is no added sugar to the salsa, and just a touch of olive oil for cooking the shrimp. Using corn tortillas also makes this recipe gluten free. If desired, you could use flour tortillas or serve the shrimp on rice.

If you would like to try the recipe for yourself, you can find it here:

https://healthyfitnessmeals.com/shrimp-tacos-with-pineapple-salsa-recipe/