Mezcal Shrimp Tacos with Guac Crema
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 30 min
- Active: 30 min
Ingredients
Guac Crema:
1 small green chili pepper, Serrano or small jalapeno
1 ripe Haas avocado
1 lime
1/4 small red or white onion
1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
A pinch of salt
Tacos:
1/2 small red or white onion
1 can (14 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
32 medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off
6 cloves garlic
EVOO
2 tablespoons butter
1 scant teaspoon cumin seed, measure in your palm
1 teaspoon (1/3 palm full) pimenton or paprika
2 chipotle in adobo, plus a couple spoonfuls sauce
About 1/4 cup mezcal
A drizzle of honey, about a teaspoon
Salt and pepper
1 lime
Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas
To Serve:
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 lime, wedged
Cilantro leaves
Sliced pickled jalapenos, mild or hot
Thinly sliced small radishes
Crumbled cotija or queso fresco
Sliced scallions
Directions
- Gather your ingredients.
- For the crema: Seed and chop green chili. Halve and pit avocado. To a food processor or high power blender, add the juice of 1 lime, chili, scoop in the avocado, onion and crema or sour cream and process into a smooth sauce. Season with salt to taste.
- For the tacos: Finely chop onion. Place tomatoes in a strainer to drain. Pat shrimp dry. Peel garlic and thinly slice, grate or chop garlic.
- Heat a large cast-iron or wide, shallow skillet over medium-high heat with EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Melt butter into oil and when it foams add onion, garlic, cumin, paprika and chipotle in adobo. Swirl and toss a minute. Add tomatoes, cook a minute or 2 more, then add mezcal and a drizzle of honey -- be mindful of a flare up. Swirl a minute more. Add the shrimp to the sauce, season with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Add juice of lime, remove from heat.
- Char tortillas in a hot stainless pan over high heat or over open flame on gas burners. Blister the tortillas 20 to 30 seconds and stack in a cloth napkin or towel to keep warm.
- Serve shrimp in serving bowl with tortillas, crema, lettuce, lime wedges and toppings alongside.
- To build tacos: Slather or squirt sauce on tortilla, top with lettuce, shrimp -- squirt on more lime juice of you like, cilantro, jalapenos, radishes, cheese and scallions.