Mango Taco Monday

June 18 - Today was HOT. Like you want no business being outside or even thinking about opening your oven hot. Knowing that was the forecast, I spent way too long looking at recipes for today’s meal, trying to figure out exactly what people want to eat when it’s that hot out. My dad insisted that a fruit salad was the way to go, despite my consistent, and annoyed, responses that a fruit salad is not a meal. But, he was on to something with fruit, which brought me to choose shrimp and mango tacos (Surprise, it’s another recipe from NYT Cooking!). These were not only super simple to make, but were colorful, flavorful, and didn’t require an oven. Plus, who doesn’t love tacos?

The only issue with this recipe was the spice. Brenda has to avoid foods with lots of spice and can’t eat the cumin or chiles that this meal called for, so I had to come up with something else. My thought process here was that the chiles were there to counteract the sweetness, meaning I had to find something else to do that. After doing some research, I found that it’d be best to add more acid, in the form of citrus juice or acidic wine, or to add fat, either with avocado or olive oil. I decided, the millennial I am, that adding avocado would be the way to go.

Deciding on this recipe took the most time, because the actual cooking didn’t take long. All that needed to be done was heating the shrimp in a pan with garlic, and eventually adding cilantro, lime juice and chopped mango. We had to heat the tortillas as well, following the recipe’s suggestion on how to do so, in a steamer. In reality, we think this caused them to be flimsy and fall apart more easily, which may have been something to do with our choice of corn over flour tortillas. However, I think if I made these again I’d grill them directly over the burner for a more charred and resilient shell. Additionally, if you’re planning to feed four people, definitely double the recipe. We made white rice and put out tomatoes and yellow peppers as additional fillings, so we did have enough to eat, but the shrimp and mango mixture went away way faster than I had hoped.

Despite some missteps and learning points, the flavor from the shrimp and mangoes together was wonderful; sweet, bright and refreshing, making for a perfect hot weather meal. I may try them again myself with the spicy ingredients added, but the avocado and other fillings complimented the flavors well, still making for a great meal and a successful substitution. Try this recipe out yourself to spice up your summer taco game or when you want a fun meal without all the effort.