Black Bean & Shrimp Tacos
Hi, hello, how are you? I’m doing a little better than in my last post, if you’re keeping track. My sister is near our family in India, in Bhubaneswar, and that’s giving me a some more peace than her weathering the storm of COVID-19 alone in Mumbai. I’m bracing myself for this to go on for longer than any of us expect it to and trying to maintain some routines and normalcy. This week has been a week with video chats, phone calls, and cooking more than I normally do. When I’m not traveling to visit my clients, I work from home so I’m used to this way of being. But of course, after work, I don’t have the plans for dinners, drinks, parties at home that I used to. I can’t visit my parents over the weekends, stop in at the farmer’s market, or go check out a new brunch spot. It’s left me with a lot of time to be bored, think, and create. I read somewhere that boredom can incubate creativity; I’ve leaned into that idea and have found myself coming up with new things to cook and new recipes to try. These black and shrimp tacos, made with many ingredients you may have in your pantry and freezer, are a result of my boredom.
If you follow my Instagram, you know I love tacos. There is a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of Indian and Mexican cooking and maybe that’s why I love tacos so much. Cumin, coriander, heat from various chilies, limes, cilantro. My favorite tacos are usually in a corn tortilla, loaded with meat (preferably pork), and topped simply with diced white onions and cilantro. Squeeze a little lime and a healthy glug of salsa and I am perfectly content. Now, I can’t install a rotating skewer nor justify making my 5 lb carnitas taco bar while I’m quarantined with only my husband (I mean, I guess I could make 5 lbs of pork but we have horrible self-control and cannot be trusted). So I had to turn my eyes to a more manageable but still delicious black bean and shrimp taco.
You can use this as a template and sub things as you like. Here are some things I think about when constructing a taco:
Tortilla type - unless I’m making quesadillas or wraps, corn tortillas are my go-to, as opposed to flour tortillas. If corn tortillas are hard to find, flour will do!
Beans - canned black beans heated through with things like garlic cloves, cumin, hot sauce, and lime is not only a great base for these tacos, it’s also a great side in general. I like the moisture and texture contrast the beans add as a base.
Kale - I made some kale chips to get my greens into this taco. I overcooked them so you can’t really see them but they’re there! Any other greens work great as well - kale is tough so I made chips but if you’re using something gentler like spinach, just quickly saute in a pan.
Shrimp - I use a simple mix of cumin, cayenne, and Mexican oregano to cook the shrimp. If you want to make these tacos with another protein or a vegetable like cauliflower, the spices also work!
Pickled onions - the pickled onions are such a perfect balance to the warmth and spice of the rest of the taco. My onions are sour and a little sweet. I recommend making a jar of these and using them to top whatever could use a little acidity and complexity. Soups, stews, bowls, sandwiches, and more. By the way, you follow the same formula below for these onions to pickle carrots, radishes, cucumbers, beets, and other vegetables.
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 corn tortillas
1 lime, juiced, divided (used throughout)
Cilantro, chopped
Black beans
1 can black beans (15 oz)
1 garlic clove, grated
Hot sauce to taste
Salt to taste
Kale chips
4-5 kale stems, leaves removed and torn into pieces
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Shrimp
8-12 shrimp, deveined and cleaned
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano (optional)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Pickled red onions
1 large red onion, sliced
1 cup water
1/2 distilled white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
Add-ins like mustard seeds, peppercorns (optional)
Method
Prepare the pickled red onions first and set aside. Slice the onions and place in a jar. In a saucepan, heat the water, vinegar, salt and sugar. When the mixture is simmering and everything had dissolved and pour it over the onions. Add any mustard seeds or peppercorns, if using. Cover tightly with a lid and set aside. This will be ready to use in 20-30 mins and will stay in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
Now, make the kale chips. Heat the over to 400 F. On a large baking sheet, toss the kale leaves, olive oil, some salt, and the juice of about 1/4 lime. Massage everything into the kale vigorously for 2 mins to soften the fibers. Spread out the leaves on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 12-15 mins. Keep an eye on the kale chips so as to not to char them too much.
While the kale cooks, make the black beans. Simply pour most of the liquid at the top of the can out and add the beans to a saucepan (I used the same pan I used to make the pickled onions). Grate in 1 garlic clove, add the hot sauce, salt, and the juice of 1/4 lime. Let the beans cook on low heat while you prepare the other components, stirring occasionally and breaking up a few of the beans with the back of your spatula. You’re looking for a drier, dip-like consistency that won’t soak through the tortilla.
While the kale and beans cook, make the shrimp. Toss the shrimp in the juice of 1/4 lime, cumin, cayenne, Mexican oregano, and salt. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once heated through, add the shrimp to the pan and cook, 3 mins on each side.
Assemble your dope ass tacos! Heat a tortilla, add a layer of black beans, the kale chips, them shrimp, and then the pickled onions. Sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and enjoy!
