Mango Shrimp Tacos

Today there was a breakthrough, Tom wanted something other than a “Meat Salad”… Much to my surprise his request was for healthy mexican.  YES SIR!  We could eat mexican for every meal, which I’m sure is common among native southern californians, but the taco shop just doesn’t fit into our waistline budget EVERY day.  So I looked through my cupboards and fridge to see what I had to work with.  I had some frozen shrimp and frozen mango in the ice box, BAM shrimp tacos with mango salsa.  My mom used to make an appetizer of grilled shrimp and mango salsa when I was young and ever since the first time I had it, I don’t think I’ve found any two things that go as perfect together as warm, seasoned shrimp and cool, sweet mango.  Ok, maybe chocolate and salted caramel, coffee and chocolate or any cheese and good bread, but it’s definitely up there.

You can’t have tacos without rice and beans, so I whipped together a killer batch of refried black beans and some mexi brown rice. There’s no reason to sacrifice flavor for low fat dishes, anything can be made healthier but still taste delicious, especially if you do it yourself so you know exactly whats inside your meal!  Keeping that in mind I decided to make my own corn tortillas, no preservatives, no ingredients that sound like something my friend Krystle is studying in BioChem, just Masa, salt and water.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I’ll never buy tortillas again!  It is SO unbelievably easy to make your own.  I’ll post the recipe for the tortillas, and the beans and rice I made next.

Recipe…

Mango Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp…

• 1/2 lb uncooked shrimp (fresh or frozen) Peeled and deveined, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil, just enough to coat shrimp well
• 1 1/2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
• Zest of one lime
• 1 clove of garlic grated

Mango salsa…

• 1 cup frozen mango*
• 1 small tomato
• 1 jalapeño, minced (leave in ribs and seeds if you like heat like us)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 of a shallot, minced
• 1-2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Zest and juice of one lime
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 avocado
• Salt and pepper to taste

Start by marinating the shrimp…

Add chopped shrimp, enough olive oil and old bay to coat them well, then grate the garlic and zest the lime on top. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in fridge for at least an hour.

While the shrimp marinates, work on your salsa…

In a small sauce pan, heat oil, add minced jalapeño, garlic and shallot. Grate in the ginger. (Make sure to peel the skin off with a paring knife before grating.) Salt and pepper to taste. If you like heat add some red pepper flakes also.

Sautee on low-medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add frozen mango and coo for about 4-5 minutes or until mango is thawed.

Add tomatoes and a pinch more salt and pepper. Cook for another minute. Remove from pan into a small bowl.

Add lime zest and juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

While your salsa is chilling and shrimp is marinating why not make some tortillas? They’re better for you and 10 times more delicious.

When you’re ready to eat cook your shrimp…

Simply heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add shrimp and marinade, sauté for about 3 minutes per side.

I know, I know... The recipe calls for chopped shrimp and mine are whole. It was an after thought, I ended up chopping my shrimp after I cooked them which was a hassle and on top of it they got cold. You don't have to chop your shrimp at all if you like them whole, I just like having everything about the same size. I guess it bugs me when I bite into something like a sandwich or a taco and a big piece of something pulls out and the whole thing falls apart. Anyway, the choice is yours.

*Also, if you want to use fresh mango by all means, please do.  All I had was frozen and I find it much easier than chopping one.  If you do use fresh don’t bother heating up your ingredients.  Just add them all in together and let it sit in the fridge until the flavors have time to marry and become fabulous.

Now that you're ready to eat add the avocado and cilantro to your salsa. I find the easiest way to chop up an avo is to cut it in half, take out the pit with a knife, slice through the avo vertically and horizontally, making sure not to cut through the skin, until it looks like this.

Use a spoon to scoop your perfectly chopped avocado out of its skin, stir in with the cilantro and serve.

I put my salsa and shrimp in serving dishes and let people make their own tacos.

 

 

 

Serve this mouthwatering creation with whatever you like.

 

I served my tacos with healthy mexican brown rice and spicy "refried" black beans.

Enjoy♥

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