Happy Cinco de Mayo! This week, in celebration of this fun Mexican holiday, I am sharing with you 2 of my favorite go to recipes ~ Salsa Verde & Shrimp Tacos! These recipes are in solid rotation around here & we are sure that you will love them, too!
Salsa Verde Shopping List:
8 Tomatillos
1 Medium White Onion
7 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Bunch Cilantro
1 Green Heirloom Tomato (I often can’t find green and just use a regular red one)
1 Jalapeno (optional)
1 Avocado
Juice of 2 Limes
Salsa Verde Recipe:
- Peel tomatillos and blanch in boiling water for 90 seconds, remove and place in an ice bath.
- Peel and quarter onion
- Wash cilantro and remove thicker stems
- Quarter the tomato
- Quarter tomatillos
- Peel avocado and remove pit
- Place all of the above items in a good blender (Vitamin, Blendtec) or food processor
- Juice the limes into the blender
- Add 1tsp of kosher salt
- Add seeded Jalapeño (optional)
- Blend until smooth
Viola! This fresh salsa is delicious with tortilla chips, served over grilled chicken or fish and as a garnish to any type of taco!
Shrimp Taco Shopping List:
2lb bag of frozen raw devained shrimp (some have tails on, some have tails off – depends on where you buy them – you eventually want the tails off – so whatever you find is fine)
1 bag slaw (I love Taylor Farms Asian Chopped Salad Kit from Costco, but you can make your own, or get some pre-made, cabbage based chopped salad – they have them at whole foods as well as Trader Joes)
1 package Corn Tortillas
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 can San Marco Chipotle Salsa
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Garlic powder
3/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Avocado peeled and cubed
Chopped Scallions for garnish
Cilantro for garnish
2 Limes sliced for garnish
Shrimp Taco Recipe:
- Defrost the shrimp using a colander in the sink. Run some room temp water over them until they are defrosted.
- Pat dry with paper towel.
- Mince or crush the garlic and add to a mixing bowl along with the chili powder, cumin & garlic powder.
- Add olive oil and whisk together.
- Add shrimp to the olive oil marinade, cover and let sit for 20 min or more in the fridge.
- While shrimp are marinating, add 1/2 cup sour cream to a bowl & add some chipotle salsa to taste. Will make a light pink sauce for the tacos. I usually use about 1 Tbs, but start slow. The salsa is smoky and spicy!
- Heat the corn tortillas – you can throw them in foil and toss in the oven or you can heat them in a frying pan – to be honest some nights I’m too lazy for this step and I skip it all together.
- Heat a large skillet on high.
- Add the shrimp and all the marinade to the skillet and sauté until the shrimp are pink and cooked through (a couple of minutes – time varies based on skillet size and amount of shrimp)
- Assemble your tacos by adding a few cooked shrimp, topping with slaw, cilantro, scallions, lime, avocado & a drizzle of chipotle sour cream sauce!
Shrimp tacos are in regular rotation over here. Some nights we skip the tortillas and just have them in a bowl over rice. Max likes his shrimp alone in a bowl. Naked. I also had high hopes of serving up a delicious virgin margarita recipe, but the truth is that I’m really just a water drinker. Maybe a seltzer with a lime! So I fell short in the drink category this holiday, but who needs the sugar and carbs anyway?