Shrimp ingredients:

1 lb large fresh or thawed from frozen Gulf shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
2 T Cajun seasoning, or your favorite brand of blackening seasoning (I prefer Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning)
1 T butter

Broccoli Slaw Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package of broccoli slaw* (without dressing)
1 green onion, sliced
2 T mayonnaise
1/2 t rice or apple cider vinegar
1/2 t honey
1/4 t Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Pico de Gallo Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 serrano peppers, deseeded and chopped
1 T cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced

Serve with:

1 avocado, sliced
2 limes, quartered
8 corn tortillas or corn and wheat flour combo tortillas

Directions:

Prep all the ingredients ahead of time. This can be done early in the day, or for the broccoli slaw, the day before.

cooked and ready to eat!

Keep the shrimps in the refrigerator after peeling and deveining. If your shrimps are small, it’s just fine to stuff a bunch of them in your taco!

*If you don’t want to buy one of those handy dandy nifty 12 oz bags of broccoli slaw veggies, make it yourself using 2 cups broccoli shredded, 1 carrot, peeled and shredded, 1/4 cup red onion, chopped. Then continue with the green onion and dressing.

*(continued) Don’t use store slaw dressing. It is too heavy in flavor and will overpower the shrimp. The dressing in this recipe is not one you’d use to eat the slaw all by itself, it’s not seasoned sufficiently and there’s simply not enough. For the tacos, it keeps the broccoli from being dry and gives it a just right hint of flavor.

So, now mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard, Add salt and pepper to taste. This mix should be thick and taste ever so slightly sweet. Yes, that is all the dressing. You do not want soggy tacos, so don’t add more, ok? Stir the dressing into the slaw mix and refrigerate for an hour or so.

Now make the pico de gallo by mixing the tomatoes, red onion, serrano peppers, cilantro, and lime juice. Use as many peppers as your taste buds prefer – jalapenos are just fine instead of serranos. If you do not like spicy things, skip the peppers. Do not put the pico de gallo in the refrigerator. Leave it out on the counter for the flavors to blend. Taste in one hour and decide if it needs a couple more serranos or a bit more lime!

Shortly before cooking, slice the avocado and squish half of one of the limes over the pieces. Reserve the remaining lime slices to serve at the table.

Warmed the tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet set over medium heat, about 20 seconds on each side. Removed the tortillas to a plate and keep them covered while the shrimps cook. Alternatively, you can place the tortillas inside a tortilla warmer or between clean tea towels and briefly warm them in the microwave (do not over-cook).

Toss the blackening or Cajun seasoning onto the shrimp, covering as much of the shrimp as possible. I like to do this by hand. Heat a large pan or wok over medium-high heat with 1 T butter. When the butter melts and starts to sizzle, add the shrimps, stirring for about 4-5 minutes or until the shrimps are just done.

You can watch the shrimps cook in the place where you deveined the shrimp. When the tails of the shrimps curl, and they are pink throughout with delicious brown bits here and there, pour them into a serving bowl.

Serve with the reserved sliced limes and perhaps a side of black beans and corn salad (served warm or cold).

To assemble your taco: Place three shrimp (more if you used smaller shrimps) in one of the tortillas, top with a little slaw, some pico de gallo, a few pieces of avocado, and a little squish of fresh lime. Fold in half and enjoy.