Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Mayonnaise

I love to eat and I love to cook for my friends and family. Here is one of my "go to" recipes for a quick delicious meal that's tasty enough to serve to company. This recipe has evolved from one I acquired out of a 2004 Sunset Magazine. The title of their recipe is Salmon Tacos. They are good, but these are better.

The first change I made was to switch to shrimp. We eat a lot of salmon and I have other salmon recipes that I prefer. I tried the salmon batter with shrimp and my family liked the shrimp better. The next change was to come up with a non-fried version. There were a few problems with the battered, fried recipe. First, they aren't healthy, not that everything I make is healthy, but we rarely eat fried food. Secondly, the shrimp became soggy unless consumed immediately. My family and friends ate tacos in shifts while I cooked. I like to cook, but I wanted to be included in the meal, not working in the kitchen while they ate. Third, frying takes longer and it's hard to make for large groups. I love the chipotle mayonnaise and still use the original recipe from Sunset, but I have come up with my own better recipe for the shrimp.

Shrimp Marinade (I rarely measure when cooking, but the last time I made these tacos I tried to measure everything as I went a long.)

2 lbs. of thawed, shelled shrimp (21-25 count per pound)

2 Tbls. of olive oil plus a little more for cooking

1 tsp. of Ground Coriander

1 and 1/2 tsp. of Creole Seasoning (adjust for saltiness)

1/2 tsp. of Cayenne Red Pepper (adjust for heat)

1 tsp. Ground Cumin Seed

1 tsp. Chili Pepper (adjust for heat)

1 tsp. Paprika

4 Crushed Garlic Cloves (I'm a garlic freak, so adjust if you aren't)

Chipotle Mayonnaise Ingredients

1-2 Chipotle Chillies in Adobo Sauce

1 Cup Mayonnaise

3 Tbls. Water

Garnish

Uncooked Flour Tortillas

Coleslaw

Guacamole

What to Do

If you bought shell on shrimp, remove the shells. If you bought already shelled shrimp you will still need to remove the tail shell. Rinse and pat dry cleaned shrimp. Mix the next 8 ingredients together and marinate shrimp for about 30 minutes. Sometimes I marinate longer. I'll mix everything together before soccer practice and cook them when we get home.

Stir fry the shrimp in a non-stick skillet or wok in a single layer in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until the edges of the shrimp start to caramelize then turn over and repeat on the other side. I usually cook the shrimp in two batches. I then finish both batches off by quickly adding them together and re-heating in the pan right before serving.

Chipotle Mayonnaise

In a blender or a food processor blend 1 cup of Mayonnaise, 1-2 Chipotle Chillies in Adobo Sauce, and 3 tablespoons of water. Adjust chillies for heat. Freeze unused chillies in individual servings for future use (Thanks Kristy for the tip!).

Place about 3-5 shrimp on a tortilla and garnish with cabbage, guacamole and Chipotle Mayo. Serve with black beans and Mexican rice. I usually eat this meal tortilla free. I fill a plate with cabbage and top with shrimp, guac., and a little bit of Chipotle Mayo. for a gluten free meal.

I use uncooked flour tortillas, but you can use cooked or even corn tortillas. Cook tortillas on a frying pan or pancake skillet. Turn tortillas over when an air bubble appears on the uncooked side and finish heating the other side. I have a tortilla warmer, but you can put the heated tortillas between tinfoil and two clean dish towels to keep them warm and moist if you don't have one.

Coleslaw

Guacamole

Eat!