Jamaican shrimp tacos with mango salsa

Winter still got you down? Transport yourself to somewhere sunny and summery with these bright and beach-y tacos. They're quick enough for a weeknight meal.

Two of my fantastic friends are about to move away. (Yes, this keeps happening  – welcome to DC.) Very soon, Tracy and Mike are moving to Nepal (oh hello awesome!!!), then to South Carolina for Tracy to start a PhD program (I feel like a proud parent – my little office-mate is getting all growed up!).

Tracy and I became friends through work – we share an office (The Situation Room) with a Lumineers poster on the door, we regularly rock climb together, venture out on weekly cookie-runs, “global” dinners, coffee shop work-weekends, concerts, and of course go on the occasional camping trip and/or ski trip. Anyone who has shared an office before knows that a good officemate is key and a bad one is literally the worst thing ever. Sooo basically I’ve been winning.

A while back Tracy and Mike hosted a “family dinner” at their apartment. They put me to work in the best way possible – sous-chef slicing and dicing all the mango salsa components.... totally worth the little effort it required. 

They made these amazing shrimp tacos, garnished with the salsa and some other things. I love when other people cook for me for many reasons, one of which is that it means that I eat something I wouldn’t think to cook for myself. Shrimp cooks very quickly, so this is a great weeknight I'm-hungry-now meal. (Though the shrimp should marinate for 30 minutes in advance of cooking.) And it's a bright and beach-y meal to transport you (mentally at least) to somewhere sunny and summery.

Jamaican shrimp tacos with mango salsa
Click here for a printable recipe from Eat. Run Read.
Serves 4

For the shrimp:

 2 pounds raw medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons Jamaican curry powder (or yellow curry powder)

1 cup Jamaican Jerk Barbecue sauce

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

For the salsa:

 2 large mangos, finely diced

1 red onion, finely diced

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple

3-4 bell peppers (yellow, red, or orange), finely diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

black pepper

For serving: (All garnishes are optional; obviously I want them all!)

 small corn or flour tortillas (we used flour, they’re more durable)

shredded cheese

lettuce or spinach (we used spinach)

hot sauce

finely diced or thinly sliced radishes

lime juice

Directions:

 1. Prepare the salsa: Slice, dice, and mix. Crush if you want. (This recipe makes a lot, so expect leftovers.)

 2. Prepare the shrimp: In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the curry powder and barbecue sauce and let it marinate for about 30 minutes. 

 3. Heat a large saute pan over medium temperature. 

 4. Add the olive oil to the pan and heat for about one minute. 

 5. Add in the shrimp, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are evenly cooked and not translucent at all (about five minutes). 

6. Serve immediately with garnishes!