Spicy Shrimp Tacos & Emily’s Special Sauce
If you saw my previous recipe: Summer Seafood Pasta, then you may me noticing a mini-theme. Yes, for the last 6 weeks, I have been craving seafood, especially shrimp. And — um, shrimp has become SO expensive, which is why it hasn’t been on our menu for a long time. But, Whole Foods ran a good sale, taking 10 whole dollars off of the price per pound!
I am all over a good sale, so we snagged a few pounds and I promptly whipped up the Summer Seafood Pasta. It was so good and totally worth the multiple steps to prepare. I mean $45 dollars worth of scallops and shrimp ((3 lbs)) deserves a bit of laborious meal prep, I think.
But, with one pound of perfect Key West shrimp remaining, I was looking for an easier dinnertime solution 24 hours later. Then it came to me: Spicy Shrimp Tacos.
Now, I am in love with cooking shrimp in the oven ((see my favorite shrimp recipe HERE)), and, because shrimp are so perfectly tasty on their own, I have a hard time convincing myself to season shrimp with anything but a little sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. But, I imagined spicy shrimp tacos for dinner, so I needed to make the shrimp – well, SPICY.
To add spice, I simply sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of my favorite homemade taco seasoning blend over the raw shrimp, along with sea salt and cracked black pepper. I added a tablespoon of canola oil and tossed the shrimp to coat.
While the shrimp were roasting in the oven, I quickly sliced up some of my freshly picked heirloom tomatoes, onions and a lone cucumber. I tossed the veggies in a bowl and flashed pickled them ((YUM)). I happened to share that recipe HERE.
Flash pickling works on any veggies; carrots, peppers, tomatoes, celery, onions etc. So just use what you have on hand. I love adding fresh herbs right before serving. Today it was cilantro’s turn to go in the bowl!
While the veggies were flash-pickling and the shrimp were still roasting, I also whipped up my special sauce. Here is the short list of ingredients I use to make my “special sauce”:
- local (made in Oklahoma) mustard, or whatever mustard is your favorite
- sour cream, light or regular work great
- steakhouse seasoning blend
- ¼ teaspoon of sugar
Give it all a quick stir and it is ready to serve.
Because the shrimp only take 8 to 9 minutes to reach shrimp perfection, dinner is literally ready in under 15 minutes!
I served warm corn tortillas, fresh salsa and some pico along with the flash-pickled veggies & my special sauce. And it was good, and by good — let me just say, it was as good as I think a spicy shrimp taco can possibly be!
My homemade taco seasoning adds just the right amount of flavor and heat. The flash-pickled veggies add a tangy, crisp freshness — LOVE. My “special sauce”? Well, it makes these tacos very special. Trust me.
Happy Summer!