Image's fifth annual Advent Art Salon

Shrimp Tacos from Alex Early 

for more, see his cookbook Among the Pots & Pans

MARINADE

Soy
Ginger
Garlic
Red pepper flakes
Honey

HOLY GUACAMOLE

2 avocadoes, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp minced cilantro
4 tsp minced red onion
4 tsp olive oil

Mix it all together…  It is a good idea to make this component last for two reasons.  #1, you don’t want the avocado turning brown while you are cooking the other stuff, so plan to prep everything and wait until the last minute to cut open the avocados and mix them in.  #2, if you make it ahead of time you will eat all on chips, tortillas, or off your fingers before the rest of the stuff is ready, and you DO NOT want to miss having this in the shrimp tacos!

SCREAMIN' SOUR CREAM

1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

You can make this FIRST and throw into the fridge so the flavors can get happy…

SANCTIFIED SLAW

2 cups – thin sliced red cabbage
½ cup - carrots julienned / grated
½ cup – thin sliced red onion
4 tbsp – chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup - rice wine vinegar
1/8 cup - canola oil
honey to taste
celery seed to taste
salt & pepper to taste

I know vinegar to oil ratio generally is the other way around, but trust me 2 vinegar to 1 oil is the way to go in this case.  For the honey we do a good spiral drizzle over the top.  For the celery seed, a good sprinkling over the top (it’s easy to put too much celery seed, but DO NOT go without).  We like a lot of S&P but remember you can always add more, but you can’t take away.  You also want to make this early in the process so the flavors can marinate some, but again not so far ahead that things get wilty…

6” Flour Tortillas

Good: right before assembly, warm tortillas in the microwave for 60 seconds

Amazing: heat about ½” of canola oil in a skillet on medium high, toss in one tortilla at a time until they start to blow up a bit, not long maybe 15-30 seconds, so they are still pliable, but the light frying opens up the flavor a shocking amount.  Salt the hot tortillas ever so slightly…

1lb Shrimp (30 count or so) – Salt, Pepper, 1 Clove of Garlic chopped

Shell & de-vein shrimp, salt and pepper
Preheat a skillet on medium heat, quickly sauté shrimp & garlic in olive oil 3-5 minutes until pink and opaque.  They say a perfectly cooked shrimp is a “C” shape not an “O”.

Red Pepper Jelly

This is the MOST important ingredient.  Your heart will sing songs to heaven…

 
Lime Tortilla Chips

Smash a bunch of chips to sprinkle onto the tacos for an add crunch dimension

Pepper Jack Cheese / 4 cheese Mex

Assembly

Take one fried tortilla
Spread a thin layer of red pepper jelly on one side
Spread a dollop of Screamin’ Sour Cream on top of that
Sprinkle cheese
Add 3-5 shrimp (I will sometimes cut these in half depending on the size)
Sprinkle more cheese
Sprinkle smashed lime tortilla chips
Add a dollop of Holy Guacamole
Finish with a good spoonful of Sanctified Slaw
Go ahead and make 2-3 per plate

Consume / Repeat

Alternate: Try on hard shell tostados instead of soft shell flour