Tacos for Today, Tomorrow, Any Day - Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos Recipe with Homemade Corn Tortillas

Recipe for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos

Assembled ingredients for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos 

Why wait for Taco Tuesday, when you can have tacos today? Or even tomorrow? It has been pretty hot here in Ottawa, so I have been leaning towards meals with limited oven or stove time. So even though it seems that there are many ingredients needed to make this specific taco recipe, I am sure you already have most of these ingredients in your fridge/freezer. I am also a sucker for dips as snacks, so avocado and salsa are pretty much permanent ingredient that I have on hand. 

Now, don't feel like you have to make your own guacamole for this recipe. Buying guacamole is perfectly fine in my books (I also have really loved Farm Boy and all their products here in Ottawa)! In fact the salsa I used in this recipe is store bought. 

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos

Feel free to make your own tortillas or buy store bought ones. We have this huge bag of masa harina that I bought when we first moved to Ottawa, so I really needed to use it. You can get a more detailed method of how we make our tortillas over on my blog post Quick and Easy by Step Homemade Tortillas if you want home made. Masa Harina is also gluten free (just make sure the package says gluten free) as it is made of corn. The brand I use is Maseca.

In terms of planning, make the guacamole, grate the cheese, and assemble salsa and veggies into bowls before cooking the shrimp and making the tortillas. That way, you can start assembling and eating once the tortillas are finished cooking.

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp with mushhroom, garlic & onion

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos Ingredients

Paprika-Garlic Shrimp

• 300g (2/3 lb) shrimp- zipperback, deveined D*I used pacific White Shrimp
• 1 large mushroom (or 3 smaller ones) sliced
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 4-5 cloves garlic (diced)

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• zest of one lime
• 1/2 of a red onion (diced)
• salt & pepper to taste

Homemade Tacos (makes 9 small tortillas, 3-4" in diameter)

• 1 cup masa harina (also can use corn flour) 
• 3/4 cup water

Other ingredients:

• 1/2 cup grated cheese (your choice) *I used Balderson Cheddar
• 1/2 cup salsa (your choice)
• 1 cup arugula 

Ingredients for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos - featuring some of my wheel thrown bowls!

Directions for Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos

1. Prep guacamole - In a small bowl mash avocados, lime juice, lime zest, salt & pepper together. Stir in red onion. Set aside in refrigerator while prepping rest of the taco fixings.
2. Follow the instructions to defrost the shrimp.
3. Peel the shell off the shrimp.
4. Use a paper towel to absorb excess liquid.
5. In a small bowl place the shrimp and mix in 1/4 tsp paprika, then set aside.
6. Heat a pan to medium-high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of oil. 
7. Once the pan is hot, add in the chopped garlic and onion. Once onion starts to soften, add in the other 1/4 tsp of paprika. 
8. Continue to stir, and then add in the sliced mushrooms. Cook mushrooms until softened and browned along with the garlic and onions. 
9. Add shrimp to the pan. Cook until done (approximately 5 minutes; Shrimp is cooked when it curls).
10. Once shrimp is cooked, place in a dish and set aside. 
11. Make the tortillas by mixing together 1 cup masa harina with 3/4 cup of water (for more visual pictures see my post here).
12. Roll 9 balls that are approximately ping pong or golf ball in size. Cover them loosely with saran wrap while rolling to keep them from drying out. Place saran wrap/parchment paper on top of each ball. Using a flat bottom pan, sandwich the ball between some saran wrap or parchment pap. The saran wrap will prevent the dough from sticking. Flatten each ball to make a tortilla 3 1/4"-4" in diameter. 
13. Cook each tortilla on a pan (medium-high heat); approximately 50 sec each side. We use a cast-iron pan but a regular pan will work too.
14. Place cooked tortillas in a stack, and cover with a kitchen cloth in order to keep them soft and warm. I used a brie baker to keep the tortillas warm and wrapped a kitchen towel around it.

Assemble your tacos and enjoy!

Since this recipe uses masa harina (corn flour) this taco recipe is gluten free. The nuttiness of the arugula also helps to accentuate the paprika-garlic shrimp. I love garlic, so if you don't want yours to be as garlic intense cut down on the garlic. 

Hope you end up making these Paprika-Garlic Shrimp Tacos! The tortillas can also be used for making pulled pork tacos! I'll have to post a recipe for that soon too.