Shrimp Taco-dilla

Our recipe is having a little bit of an identity crisis. It happens to the best of us. It’s not sure if it looks like a taco and tastes like a quesadilla. Or does it taste like a quesadilla and look like a taco? I think it’s the best of both worlds and should be proud to bear the name “Taco-dilla”.

I wanted to present a recipe to you that was easy to do and filled with “south of the border” flavor. To simplify things, I used store-bought salsa rather than creating my own. There are many delicious high-quality products on the market. I chose Desert Pepper Corn Black Bean Red Pepper Salsa. You can pick your flavor profile: mild, spicy, a little fruity, smoky, even Verde.

The shrimp simplifies the recipe too. It starts to cook in the heated salsa and finishes cooking in the oven. We’re going to top corn tortillas with ooey gooey Mexican cheese, salsa with shrimp, and then bake them till they are melted, and the tortillas are crisp on the edges. Top with a salad of crisp iceberg lettuce, avocado, red onion, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. Fold it into the shape of a taco (or is it a quesadilla?). Need a little more spice in your life, top with your favorite hot sauce. A dallop of sour cream will finish off your delicious creation.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Shrimp

Servings people

Ingredients

4 cups Iceberg lettuce coarsely chopped
½ Red Onion thinly sliced and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
½ cup Cilantro Leaves
1 Avocado cut into chunks (cut just before serving)
1 Lime juice from
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
16 ounces Desert Pepper Corn Black Bean Salsa
1 pound Shrimp 20-26 count, peeled and tail removed, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 Corn Tortillas 6 inch
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
12 ounces Mexican Cheese Oaxaco or Queso Fresco

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Create the salad. Combine lettuce, red onion and cilantro. Drizzle with lime juice and olive oil. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
In a saucepan over medium low heat, heat salsa. Stir in shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Set to the side.
Cover two large baking sheets with foil. Evenly divide the corn tortillas between the two pans. Brush vegetable oil on top of each tortilla. Flip to the other side and brush that with vegetable oil as well.
Evenly divide cheese amongst the 12 tortillas. Top with shrimp salsa mixture.
Bake for 8-10 minutes rotating the baking sheets halfway through the cooking process. They are done when the cheese is melted, and the edges of the tortillas are crisp. While the Taco-dillas are cooking, cut your avocado and add to the salad.
In a roasting pan/dish, fold taco-dillas and stack them next to each other in the pan. This will keep them all upright and easy to serve. Top with salad and a dallop of sour cream or serve salad on the side.