It is April 14th...35 degrees...a steady drizzle of rain. My yard is a swamp, and my dogs are going stir crazy. Tomorrow it might snow! This is just not right. We deserve better.

So, we decided to defy the season and have a taste of the tropics inside. The initial inspiration was a post I was reading by the Homesick Texan about the perfect flour tortilla. It got me thinking about tacos (I know...again...I'm kind of obsessed).  I was craving something fresh and spicy.

I started by making those fresh tortillas, which turned out so delicious and chewy. I filled them with grilled shrimp marinated in a Caribbean marinade that I adapted from Dunstan Harris' book Island Barbecue: Spirited Recipes from the Caribbean (adapted means I didn't have some of the ingredients). The shrimp was roughly chopped and topped with a slaw of green cabbage, mango, red pepper and cilantro.  The final touch was a creamy "fish taco" style dressing that included some of the marinade. We dished it up with a side of black beans well fortified with smoky bacon.

I'm telling you what...this meal  brightened this dreary day.  It was one of the tastier things to come out of our kitchen in a while.

Oh...I almost forgot. You can't have a  Caribbean meal without a icy Mojito. I had to make a last minute run to the store for some mint to make that possible.

This will definitely make an appearance again. Hopefully next time I don't have to grill in the rain.

Jerked Shrimp Tacos with Mango Slaw
(serves 4)
8 Fresh Flour Tortillas (find the recipe here)
1 Pound of fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 Cup Jerk marinade
2 cups Mango slaw
1/2 cup dressing

Toss shrimp in 1/4 cup of Jerk marinade and store refrigerated for at least one hour.  Reserve some marinade for the dressing. Grill shrimp until done. Chop shrimp into large pieces.Distribute shrimp evenly between taco shells. Top with slaw and dressing. Serve with a slice of lime.

Jerk Marinade (adapted from Island Barbecue by Dunstan Harris)
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
3 Jalapeños  stems removed, cut in 1/2 retaining seeds
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup Soy sauce
2 Tbls vegetable oil
1 Tbls Salt
Pinch garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree.

Mango Slaw
1 Cup cabbage,finely shredded
1  Mango, peeled and seed removed, julienned
1/4 Cup red pepper, julienned
1 Tbls cilantro finely chopped
Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients  and set aside fro at least 1/2 hour.

Dressing
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1/8 Cup Milk
1 clove garlic minced
2 Tbls Jerk Marinade
2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients

Comments

[Shelly]

Looks tasty! I am a nut for REAL flour tortillas...HATE the stuff in plastic!!! I just tried to make corn tortillas a few weeks back, this I found out was not as easy as flour becasue I don't have a tortilla press, they looked a little crazy, but still tasted good!

[Beth]

I've been working through the Homesick Texan archives for about a week now; which lead me to you. I read her recipe(s) for tacos; now I've read yours; and I'm overpoweringly hungry for the taste of home. I am a transplanted Texan, currently living in the English countryside. Tex-Mex is not just thin on the ground or even bad; it's non-existent. I will definitely be trying the flour tortilla recipe very soon. Happily, I've got a trip to Texas planned for April. I just hope we get a true bluebonnet spring and not the utterly bizarre snowstorm we had last Easter. (That's global warming for you.)

Last thing: I love that you are cooking with your daughter. I cook with my daughters, too.