Shrimpy Mango Goodness

Last weekend I was in Ft. Lauderdale and ate at the Carolina Ale House. Aside from being shocked at how affordable it was, I fell in love with their shrimp tacos. Sadly, the recipe is not out there. Not even from the Top Secret Recipes guys (gals? people?) I, however, was determined to create something equally yummy in my own kitchen. I almost succeeded. Next time I'll blacken the shrimp. Here is last night's effort. Oh, and this time? I came up with my own recipes after reviewing several different ones on the web. Well, mostly. The corn and black bean salad is not mine, it's Rachael Ray's. But the rest of it is mine.

The Menu

Shrimp Tacos with seasoned sour cream
Mango Salsa
Warm Corn and Black Bean Salad

Make the mango salsa and a couple of hours in advance to give the flavors time to develop. When you're ready to start cooking, make the warm corn and black bean salad first, then the sour cream, save the shrimp for last.

Mango Salsa

1 med. Mango

½  red bell pepper

Juice and zest of 1 lime

3-5 cloves garlic

1 shallot bulb

1 jalapeno pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp ground coriander seed

Salt

 

1. Peel and finely chop the shallot, garlic, mango, red pepper and jalapeno and set in a small bowl.
2. Zest and juice the lime over the bowl, add the sugar and ground coriander and sprinkle with salt.
3. Toss well. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Heat through before serving if desired.

Warm Corn and Black Bean Salad

This recipe is from the Food Network's Rachael Ray and can be found here.

1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, half a palm full

2 teaspoons hot sauce, just eyeball the amount (recommended: Tabasco)

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, eyeball it

Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, then toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick-chill on this easy side-salad as it defrosts -- no need to refrigerate!

Seasoned Sour Cream

¼ - ½ c sour cream (I just had some left over from an 8oz container so the amount is a guess)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cumin

¼ tsp ground coriander seed

Shake of dried cilantro leaves

Combine all ingredients, stir well, serve.

Shrimp Tacos

1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined, tail removed shrimp (51-60 per pound)
1 lime
Mango Salsa (recipe follows)
Seasoned Sour Cream (recipe follows)
Leaf lettuce
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
Small flour tortilla shells
 
Heat a skillet over medium. Add shrimp, sprinkle with salt and squeeze lime juice over the top. Sautee until shrimp are just pink, but not curled into themselves. When shrimp get all curled up they are over cooked and tend to be a little tough.
 
To assemble and serve:
 
Open a flour tortilla and spread a little of the seasoned sour cream in the center. Add a piece of leaf lettuce, the shrimp, a slice of avocado and top with the mango salsa. Serve the bean and corn salad on the side.

 
This is a fairly light meal, so if your family needs a little more substance, add some rice or even french fries on the side. We loved it!