Camarones (Shrimp) Al Pastor & Avocado Lime Crema

Memorial Day is coming up and if you haven’t already, many of us will probably plan to fire up the grill. Al Pastor is a great, flavorful marinade that can be used for any type of meat. It is traditionally used for pork tacos, which are then prepared in the traditional shawarma style. In fact, Al Pastor means “In the Style of the Shepherd,” which is how the Greek expats in Mexico were affectionately called and named because the dish is in the Greek style--traditionally cooked over a spit in a conical shape just like the Greek street meat, Shawarma. Al Pastor has citrus and pineapple, the acidity of which also helps to tenderize the meat, so it’s a great marinade for cuts that tend to dry out quickly. Try it at your next barbecue--you’re going to love it!

The main inspiration for this dish is these lovely Pickled Red Onions from Azlin Bloor of linsfood.com & singaporeanmalaysianrecipes.com/. They got me to thinking about tacos. Especially Al Pastor, since it's a delightful, flavorful way to prepare any kind of protein--from pork to tofu! The sweet pineapple and smoky chipotles would be a fabulous counterpoint to the tart, spicy, utterly fabulous pickled onions. And it was! I highly recommend this combination--especially making the pickled onions as they take only 5 minutes and are the absolute best thing with so many dishes, especially tacos!

Tacos Camarones Al Pastor (Grilled Shrimp Tacos) with Avocado Lime Crema 

Serves 2 (Makes approx 6 tacos)

For the Al Pastor Shrimp 

1 lb tiger shrimp, peeled & deveined

½ pineapple, cored & cut into rough chunks

1 jalapeño, seeds & ribs removed

2 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon oregano (pref Mexican oregano)

1 Tablespoon chili powder (not cayenne)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds or ground cumin

½ teaspoon whole peppercorns

½ teaspoon salt

2 (tinned) chipotlé peppers in adobo + 1 Tablespoon of the adobo sauce from the tin

¼ cup apple cider vinegar (can use any type)

1 cup pineapple juice

For the Cilantro, Avocado & Lime Crema

1 ripe avocado

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves & stems

Juice of 4 limes

1 cup crema or sour cream

For the Tacos

1 cup cooked black beans

¼ head of cabbage, sliced thinly

2 radishes, sliced very thinly

Handful cilantro leaves

~2 Tablespoons crumbled cotija (sub feta)

Pickled onions, as per preference (about 2-3 per taco)

Avocado Lime Cilantro Crema

Camarones (Shrimp) Al Pastor

1/2 cup fire roasted corn (can be found in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s)

12 small soft corn tortillas

1/2 pineapple, cored, cut into slices and grilled (just enough to get some grill marks) 

Marinate the Shrimp

Toss everything from the Al Pastor ingredient list but the shrimp into the blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth. Thread shrimp 5-6 on a skewer. In a baking dish or food storage container, combine shrimp and blended ingredients. Marinate for 15-30 minutes. Meanwhile, you can prepare the other ingredients. First, the avocado, lime, cilantro crema.

Make the Crema

Throw all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a squeeze bottle 

for serving. 

Prep for the Tacos & Grill the Shrimp

Heat the black beans, crumble the cotija cheese, slice the radishes, cabbage and cilantro and rough chop your grilled pineapple; get your taco toppings ready. Preheat your grill to medium high. Brush the grate generously with oil. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and shake off any excess. Grill the shrimp 2-3 minutes per side, or until they are fully cooked. Heat all 12 tortillas over the grill for about 30 seconds per side (you want a tiny bit of color and mostly to soften them up). 

Assemble tacos

This can more or less be done in any order, but you could layer two tortillas together, then put in the cabbage, beans, corn & pineapple, with the shrimp over, then top with cotija, crema, radishes and a sprinkling of minced cilantro. Serve immediately.

#taco #tacotuesday #alpastor #tacos

This piece will also be published in the upcoming issue of The Santa Cruz Mountain Bulletin