Grilled Chimichurri Shrimp Tacos
| Serves | 8 |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Seafood, Vegetables |
| Menu Part | Entree |
| Cuisine Type | American |
Taking advantage of the popularity of ethnic flavors, Timothy Gee, executive chef, finishes these seafood tacos with chimichurri sauce. “My customers love chimichurri sauce and this is a great recipe that is both light and flavorful,” he says. Packed with cilantro and garlic, the sauce provides bold, refreshing flavor to the shrimp and stir-fried vegetables. “You are getting a lot of unique flavors that are not found in your run-of-the-mill taco recipe,” Gee explains.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, cut into thin strips
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut into thin strips
2 small onions, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1⁄2 lb. large shrimp (21/25), peeled, deveined, tails removed
2 ripe avocados, cut into strips
2 cups chopped lettuce
8 taco-sized flour or corn tortillas
Chimichurri sauce
10 cloves garlic
4 tbsp. chopped onion
4 cups fresh cilantro, firmly packed
1 cup olive oil
4 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Steps
- Prepare sauce (see recipe below) and marinate shrimp.
- Prepare tacos: Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, bell peppers and onion, and stir-fry until slightly softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove skillet from heat.
- Grill shrimp on preheated grill, until they reach 145°F.
- Assemble tacos: Fill each tortilla with shrimp, peppers, onions, sliced avocado, 1⁄4 cup lettuce and generous spoonful of Chimichurri Sauce.
Chimichurri sauce
- Pulse garlic and onion in food processor until finely chopped.
- Add cilantro and pulse briefly until finely chopped.
- Transfer mixture to separate bowl. Add olive oil, lime juice and vinegar and stir. (Adding liquids outside of blender gives chimichurri correct texture. You don’t want herbs to be completely puréed, just finely chopped.)
- Season with salt. Add more olive oil if too thick.
- Split sauce in half. Use one half to marinate shrimp overnight and other half to sauce tacos.
Recipe by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick, N.J.)