Mexican Night Continued: Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos with Soft Corn Tortillas

Tacos. Awesome.  Honestly, my favorite part are the fresh, corn tortillas.  The filling is just window dressing. You can add anything to these.  Don’t like shrimp? Add chicken, skirt steak or beans.  While it’s always nice for someone else to be making and serving you a margarita, I have constantly been disappointed by restaurant tacos- even at self-proclaimed traditional spots.  Sometimes, they don’t even make or offer corn tortillas!  Maddening.  Buy a tortilla press.  I like the cast iron ones.  They are not expensive and take up less room than any kitchen appliance I own- and that is saying something.  The results are also a thousand times better than any of those rubbery, 1000-count bags you buy at the grocery.  You use a few and the rest end up in the back of your freezer….I know how it goes.      

I digress...

Well seasoned and properly prepared protein and sliced avocado topped with a squeeze of lime filled into a warm, soft corn tortilla is magic on a plate. Simple ingredients, delicious results. Now, go. Cook.  

Corn Tortillas

2 cups MasecaⓇ Corn Flour, do not substitute corn meal!

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

1. Add masa and salt to bowl and add water.  Mix to combine and form dough.  Divide dough in half and keep doing so until you reach 16 relatively even dough balls.  

2. Prepare tortilla press by placing a piece of plastic wrap on both plates, then press down using the handle.  Here’s what it looks like:

3. Heat a skillet to medium high; cast iron, non-stick or stainless will work.  Check heat by sprinkling a little water in the pan.  If it quickly sizzles and evaporates, you’re ready to go. Preheat oven to lowest temperature.

4. Place tortilla in pan and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Flip over and cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove tortilla from pan and place onto a cookie sheet or oven safe plate.  Lightly cover with foil and place in warm oven if you’re making a bunch.  I like to keep them in the oven if I haven’t finished cooking my filling yet so they stay warm.  Continue until all tortillas are made.  That’s it.       

Chili Lime Shrimp

About 6 Tacos

18 large shrimp, cleaned and deveined

1 ½ tsp Chili powder

½ tsp cumin

Fresh lime juice to taste

Large pinch salt

Olive oil

1 avocado, sliced

Cilantro, chopped for garnish

1. Toss cleaned shrimp with Chili, cumin, salt.  Cook now or let sit 15-20 minutes.

2. Heat large skillet to medium high.  Lightly coat bottom of pan with olive oil and when oil is glistening, add shrimp.  If you have a smaller skillet, saute the shrimp in batches to avoid steaming them.  Cook shrimp until just opaque and pink in color.  About 3-4 minutes. Unsure? Test one at 3 minutes by cutting in half to see if center is cooked through.  Unless you buy jumbo sized shrimp, cooking time should not exceed 4 minutes.

3. Place cooked shrimp in mixing bowl and add lime juice and chopped cilantro.  Add salt if necessary.

4. Assembly:  3-4 shrimp per taco, 2  slices of avocado, maybe a dollop of tomatillo salsa and you’re in business.    

Enjoy!

MJM

Mexican Night, The Beginning: Blistered Tomatillo Salsa

After a series of frustrating, mediocre Mexican fare, I decided it was time to take matters into my own kitchen. Now, I cannot claim complete authenticity but I can assure you that these dishes are delicious, simple and all From Scratch. This is the first of three Mexican inspired recipes that I think would make anyone happy. Here's the first. Tomatillo salsa! If you have a blender, a food processor or an immersion blender, there's no reason to buy the jarred stuff. It's loaded with all kinds of junk and, as you know, that's not how we roll. I'm roasting these ingredients because tomatillos are very tart and just seem to work better when cooked. If you cannot find them, sub with all standard tomatoes and then decide to roast or not. Roasting is a great way to create depth of flavor with almost any ingredient because the high heat is releasing any liquid and concentrating the flavors. Taste for yourself.

Makes about 2 cups

8 medium tomatillos

1 cup of yellow or red grape tomatoes

½ red onion, thick slices

olive oil

fresh lime juice

salt

Chipotle peppers* for smoky flavor and heat or plain jalapeno** for heat only

Preheat oven to 425℉

*Chipotle chilies. These guys are simply smoked jalapenos. If you can find them dried, that's best. But, in a pinch, you can use either powdered chipotle (in the spice aisle) or the canned ones in adobo sauce. Even I'll forgive this ingredient. Dried, whole chipotles might be hard to come by unless you have a really great grocery store or are near a Whole Foods or similar type of place. Depending on where you live may also put you at an advantage for finding these guys dried. Just re-hydrate dried chilis in warm water and remove seeds for less heat. Dice 1/4 or 1/3 of the chili and use sparingly. A little goes a lonnnng way. Promise. You can store in an airtight container covered in olive oil or other mild oil. In the process, you'll infuse the oil and can then use that in recipes in the future. This is will last in your fridge for quite some time.

**Jalapenos These guys are considered the mild chili. If you want to add just a bit of heat, carefully remove seeds and add chopped jalapeno to the salsa mixture before blending. For added heat, keep some of the seeds.

When seeding any chili, take care not to touch your face or eyes without scrubbing your hands clean. Seriously. It's not pretty. A trick I learned while seeding a ton of chilis is to use a bowl of water. The water helps ensure you have removed all seeds and is less cumbersome then using a knife to scrape them out. First, slice the chili lengthwise then remove seeds and white part (the ribs) while submerged in a bowl of water. You can certainly do this over your sink, too if you're just seeding one chili. This also works for removing the pesky seeds from bell peppers! After handling any chili pepper, immediately wash your hands with soap and water. The oils from even one chili can sting like nothing else. Always rewash hands after finished handling the chilis.

On to the Salsa:

1. Be sure to peel away the outer husk of the tomatillo and wash away any sticky residue. Place all ingredients, except for the chipotle, in a roasting pan.  Toss to coat everything with the oil.
2. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables have softened and browned.  You can also place it under a low broiler until color and texture is achieved.
3. Let veggies cool a few minutes before placing them in a medium sized bowl.  Add the chipotle sparingly at first. Once it's in, the heat level is set. Here's a guide: 1/2 - 1 teaspoon diced, OR 1/4 - 1/2 chipotle powder OR 1/2 small chiptole in adobo with seeds removed. Use a blender, food processor or immersion blender until mixture is smooth.
4. Taste!  Adjust seasoning as needed and feel free to add more chipotle.  You can also add some cilantro, if that’s your thing.  Along with black pepper, I have zero appreciation for this herb.  But go for it.  It would certainly compliment all the flavors. Blend again if necessary.
5. Serve with chips, fajitas or the tacos to follow! Olé.

Enjoy,

MJM