Shrimp Tacos with Avocado and Grilled Corn Salsa

I’ve been so nervous about blogging again. It’s been on my plate (!!!) for months now, but the prospect of taking on such a laborious hobby again, and keeping up with it, is daunting at best. (How my original business plan–the one where I cooked/baked/wrote five times a week–made it six months is far beyond me. Laughable, even.) But in the spirit of keeping things positive, and keeping my food curiosity piqued, I think it’s worth giving it another, if sporadic, try.

And this weekend was the perfect time to start, wasn’t it?! All sunny skies and hyper-pigmented grasses. I got a tan. I drank (slurped?) a milkshake. I read nearly half of a book, did two loads of laundry and took a long bath. Spring is nothing if not my most productive season.

Do you ever just crave fish tacos? On bright summer mornings, I’ve honestly woken up fantasizing about eating a good fish taco on a bench on the side of the road in South Philly (here’s looking at you, Veracruzana), all messy tilapia and doubled corn tortillas, hands sweetened by the extravagant amounts of lime juice I douse on each one. There are plenty of foods that taste like “summer”, if you will, and this is certainly one of them.

In my mind, there are three key ingredients to a solid fish taco (aside from the fish.) They are: corn tortillas, chopped cilantro and lime juice. Pile on as many extras as you wish, but without those three your fish taco isn’t really a fish taco.

I found this recipe by searching my Gmail for “Kaitlin taco.” Aside from sharing a love of blood oranges, kale and Rebecca Minkoff bags, Kaitlin and I also have a fondness for tacos, and she has, since this discovery, shared many a recipe with me, this being one of them. I’m thrilled to say that her suggestions have not steered me wrong.

Among the “extras” included here are grilled corn, avocado and spring onions. The salsa, which is really more of a nutritionally dense  and hearty salad, is good enough to be eaten on its own (and was.) Grilling tends to be a luxury of home for me–we have one in Philadelphia, but it’s missing a part and I don’t know how to use it, anyway–so loading up on charred veggies and toasted tortillas gives me all kinds of good vibes and sort of makes me want to bust out the denim shorts and racerback tanks I plan on donning all summer long.

And, of course, the better part of half of a lime drizzled on top? Perfect.

Happy spring!

SHRIMP TACOS WITH AVOCADO AND GRILLED CORN SALSA

(via Eat Live Run)

For the salsa:

1 ear corn, husked

6 scallions, white and light green parts only

1 cherry pepper

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 large avocado

1 small bunch cilantro, minced

juice of one small lime

1./2 salt

1 T olive oil

For the tacos:

1 lb shrimp

corn tortillas

Heat your grill up to medium high.

Brush corn, green onions and pepper with olive oil and place on grill. Grill until slightly charred (about 5-10 minutes.) When done, remove veggies from grill and let cool. Peel the now black skin off the pepper, remove the seeds and chop into small dice. Run your knife down the corn to remove the kernels from the cob and place into a bowl with the pepper. Chop onion and place into bowl as well.

Add chopped avocado, cherry tomatoes and cilantro to the bowl and add lime juice and salt. Season to taste and set aside while you prepare the shrimp.

Wash and devein shrimp. Grill until pink (about 3-5 minutes.) When done, place into tortillas, top with salsa and eat immediately.