Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo! I’ve been feeling festive all week and making some of my favorite Mexican recipes. I’ll share all of them below, but first I have to tell you about my newest recipe that I created from memories of our amazing getaway to Mexico last October. Every day we had lunch at Casa Velas we would eat at the swim up bar in the giant pool. There was a bartender who mixed whatever drinks you want, like mango margaritas, but he would also run to one of the hotel restaurants to grab whatever we’d like to eat. Our absolute favorite was their spicy fiesta shrimp.
I didn’t know exactly what was in the shrimp, but I knew it had garlic and lime, and could taste cumin and possibly paprika as well. I decided that Cinco de Mayo was the perfect excuse to try and recreate the shrimp.
It didn’t take much experimenting, these flavors go so well together! You’ve got your heat from the pepper, sour from the lime juice, and sweet from the shrimp and paprika. You could easily make these drunken shrimp by adding a quarter cup of tequila to your marinade, but they’ve got plenty of flavor sober. 🙂
My favorite thing about these shrimp is that they are so easy to make. You just put all the marinade ingredients in the blender, give it a whir, then let the shrimp marinate for thirty minutes. Once the shrimp has absorbed all those lovely flavors, you thread them onto skewers and grill for just a minute on each side, until the shrimp has curled ever so slightly and turned a pale pink. Just make sure that (if you use wooden skewers) you soak the skewers for at least 10 minutes before putting your shrimp on them. This keeps them from catching fire or falling apart on the grill.
You can pair these with all sorts of sides, but I’ve been trying out different flavors of Bush’s Grillin’ Beans and found that the Sweet Mesquite Beans go perfectly with the shrimp. What an easy meal!
Want some more Cinco de Mayo ideas? How about salsa verde, pico de gallo, chicken chilaquiles, picante pork, taco soup or enchiladas? You can also make your own taco seasoning or try this healthier version of seven layer dip! I’d also love to hear about your favorite Mexican recipes. Now get your fiesta on!
Fiesta Shrimp Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 TBS sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 TBS kosher salt
- 1 pound (25-40) large or jumbo shrimp, shelled but tails left on
Instructions
- Make marinade by putting lime juice, cilantro, garlic red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin and kosher salt in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Place shrimp in a gallon zip top plastic bag and pour marinade into the bag. Press out the air and seal bag tightly.
- Mush the bag around and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Thread shrimp onto skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak them in water first) and grill 1-2 minutes on each side until pink.
Notes
Approximate cost/serving: I buy the big bags of frozen shrimp for the best bargain. I use fresh lime juice and get my spices in the bulk section. My shrimp were about 20 cents a piece and with the other ingredients came out to around 35 cents each. Five shrimp is a great portion size so just $1.75 a serving!
Gluten Free:Â No changes necessary.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
5 shrimpAmount Per Serving: Calories: 11Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 807mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is an estimate only.
I made these yesterday, they were delicious!
I’m so glad Crystal, we had them again for lunch today!