A Taste of California

Shrimp Burritos. Make them. Buy them. Eat them. Love them.

I thought this would be a challenge what with finding the ingredients, but it was not nearly as difficult as I thought! I chose a recipe that used a bit of a twist when it came to seasoning. The twist? Quite a bit of cumin! It wasn't overdone though. We loved it. 

I found decent tortillas, totally adequate black beans (I added tons of cilantro) and made my own guacamole and pico de gallo to add to the shrimp recipe itself. You do want a solid guacamole and pico de gallo with these bad boys though. Everyone seems to have their own style of guac; with sour cream or without, mounds of cilantro and gallons of lime, pre-mixed guacamole seasoning (please don’t…) and so much more. Do what you like.

But if you want an awesome pico de gallo, look no further:

Pico de Gallo

2 cups ripe red tomatoes diced (about 4 medium tomatoes)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced onion (about 1/4 of a small white onion)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 jalapenos (stems and seeds removed) diced

1 lime, juiced

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients and let it sit for half an hour.

2. Serve immediately.

Will last a day in the refrigerator, though it may get extra juicy. You can drain some of the juice if you like.

Makes 2 cups

Shrimp Burritos

25-30 small-medium shrimp (you can do uncooked and prepare them yourself or you can buy pre cooked and more or less heat them in the seasoning. If you buy good cooked shrimp, there is hardly a difference.)

Tablespoon of olive oil

A healthy pinch (about 1/2 teaspoon) of cumin

A healthy pinch (about 1/2 teaspoon) chili powder

One quarter of a large sweet onion

2 cloves of diced garlic

A diced jalepeño (ribs and seeds removed, or not, if you want it to be hot)

1/2 shot of lime juice

1 shot of top shelf tequila*

A pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat till it shimmers.

Add the cumin and chili powder, and cook till it sizzles.

Add the onion, garlic, and jalepeno and cook till the onions begin to brown.

Add the tequila, lime juice, salt, pepper and shrimp. (I omitted the tequila since we didn’t have any of the top shelf variety.)

Cook till the liquid evaporates and the shrimp are cooked through (or warm through if using pre-cooked shrimp).

Assemble. Opinions vary, but we went with beans, shrimp, guacamole and pico de gallo. (Others can’t forget their tasty Mexican rice too.)