You know what goes well with spicy shrimp, fried tortillas and a kicking avocado cream? Beer.
And yet, all I can think of is wine. Wine, small little coffee shops, amazing local/seasonal restaurants and enjoying a permanent state of being buzzed for 4 days because last night we just booked a trip to Napa Valley. A trip I’ve been wanting to take for-EVER but just never happened due to a husband who hates all alcohol unless it has a pretty little umbrella in it and friends who have either had weddings or babies occupying their money and/or time for the past 5 years.
Wednesday marked exactly one month until I hit the big 3-0 so when Kat and I talked about this briefly the other day I kind of jumped on the opportunity before she could change her mind. I’m determined to make 30 a good year, a year I do all the crap I’ve wanted to do and never have for one reason or another. My bank account may not like it, but too bad. Wine, friends and traveling all trump gray hairs and savings accounts.
So, let’s talk about these tostadas because they will kinda rock your face off.
When I crave Mexican it’s all about the guac. It’s not like I’m sitting there dreaming about shredded chicken or lettuce and diced up tomatoes. Nope, it’s totally about shoveling as much avocado in my face as possible. Let’s start with that.
Creamy jalapeno avocado dip/sauce/whateveryouwanttocallit.
If you don’t eat it all straight out of the food processor with the closest cracker you can find (it’s delicious on cracked pepper & olive oil triscuits by the way), you’ll be spooning it onto the tostada after every single bite.
Did I fool you with that green leaf on top? I was hoping to ignore the fact that I totally thought I had cilantro in the fridge when in fact all that stared back at me from a packed produce drawer was parsley. I thought I could get away with passing it off as cilantro in the pictures but it’s just too obvious. I used it because I refused to run out to the store, but I’m writing the recipe with cilantro because that’s what it should be and if it was this amazing with parsley, it will be that much better with cilantro. Promise. Although, for you cilantro haters, here’s your version all tested out and ready!
You know what’s weird? I don’t even really care about the tortilla chips at Mexican joints (well besides the ones I had in Mexico last year because those were amazing) but these corn tortillas used as the base were one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. Pan frying in olive oil has that effect I guess.
And then there’s the shrimp. They’re limey, spicy and basically epitomize Mexican food.
If nothing else, these will no doubt make you crave a Corona. Unless of course you’re going to Napa too.
- 6 corn tortillas
- 18-20 large shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon hot chili powder
- juice of ½ a lime
- salt & pepper
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup red cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup baby arugula
- ½ avocado
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed
- juice of ½ a lime
- 1 tablespoon cilantro
- In a small bowl combine shrimp, paprika, cumin, chili powder and a pinch of salt & pepper. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat add ½ a tablespoon of olive oil and pan fry each tortilla, adding another ½ tablespoon of oil with each tostada. You just want to crisp them up on each side.
- Set tortillas aside and saute shrimp in the same skillet with the lime juice until they just turn pink on each side, about 3 minutes total.
- To assemble tostadas start with arugula on bottom, cabbage next, then shrimp and top with scallion, cilantro and avocado sauce (recipe below).
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh man, these look fantastic! I bought some tropical fruit this week with the intention of making shrimp taco’s, your sauce would be perfect on them. Now I must make them! I’m thinking for lunch tomorrow. Wonderful recipe. Have a great weekend!
I agree that Mexican is all about the avocado – and toastadas are great because there’s no cheese getting in the way!
Speaking of guacamole, did you ever go to Rocco’s tacos when you lived in Florida? I dream about their guacamole at least twice a week.
These tacos look like the perfect combo of textures and flavors. Plus, everything just feels cool when it’s in taco form.
They opened one like 5 minutes from our house after we moved! I’ve yet to go when visiting my MIL b/c the place is always packed. I guess I know why now!
Mmmm
I haven’t had shrimp in forever!
yummm. I was really craving mexican food the other day when I made that guac soup. Reminds me of your avocado cream here that looks fantastic. That’s my kind of green food for this weekend!
omfg i can NOT stop staring at those jumbo shrimps (haha oxymoron!) and how amazing this whole entree looks. guh i’m drooling!! and YES, we totally are bff’s today
i love a food blogger’s mind and how we all work together!! i’m seriously LOVING the jalapeno avocado sauce..i’ll drink it all
Completely agree, mexican food is alll about the guac for me. I had a similar avocado sauce on a turkey burger last night and it was AMAZING. But really, what wouldn’t it taste good with?
What gorgeous!! pics, Gina! And that sauce, mmmm I want it!
Your stuff is some of my favorite. Just pinned this because I really want ot make it! Nice job on this one!
Thanks Ericka!
You have GOT to get to rockaway beach this summer and try rockaway taco’s tostadas. SOOOO good.
OMG I heart this so hard right now. o.O These looks ridiculously good Ms. Gina – and I’m not even the world’s biggest shrimp fan. So that’s sayin’ something. Toats.
XOXO
I agree…it’s all about the guac! And Napa will be amazing…jealous
I love avocado. I just ate one smushed on toast with hot sauce. That sauce though…oh, I need that. Preferably with a margarita.
Congrats on your trip to Napa! I don’t know if you’ve been before but it’s a beautiful, peaceful place! I live somewhat close to Napa in the Lake Tahoe area, so for a short period of time, we’ll be neighbors! Your shrimp tostada recipe looks wonderful and I’m sure the creamy guac just seals the deal! Have a relaxing trip and be sure to share pictures with us!
I’ve never been! Been to San Fran a bunch of times but never wine country. I’ll definitely be sharing pics when the time comes
These look absolutely delicious. I have yet to try tostadas in my kitchen, which is odd – since I find myself making Mexican very often. Bookmarking this one!
This looks so much more amazing than the mexican we usually make. Oh how I wish Mike actually liked seafood!
I would peel and devein shrimps all day if this is the end product to look forward to! Yum! The avocado sauce… with jalapeno and yogurt… my kind of sauce!
I know, me too and I LOATHE deveining shrimp. I was so pissed that I couldn’t find peeled and deveined frozen ones in the grocery store this past time! But this was worth it
Yum! We just had shrimp last night, now I’m wishing I saw this first!
Love the purple color of the cabbage, it really makes the pictures pop! Plus, I love the taste of it 
The avocado sauce sounds delicious too, I never thought to put jalapeno and avocado together in a sauce/dip like that but it sounds pretty perfect!
beautiful pics, i absolutely love and now NEED to make it asap! thanks for sharing!
that avocado sauce sounds SO good! i agree, it’s all about the guac when it comes to mexican. i could eat bowls of the stuff.
Everything looks perfect – gorgeous colors and ginormous shrimp and fresh ingredients all around. Yum! Will have to make this soon!
Those are some tasty looking tacos!
Sign. Me. Up. Pinned!! Yum.
Gina. YUM. These photos are gorgeous!
Made these for dinner tonight, they were delicious!
so glad you liked them!
Ok, how many times do I have to invite myself over for dinner? These look so amazing I think I just drooled.
On a side note, you should include a photo with your blog name on it and the recipe title for Pinterest.
yes! teach me how to do that please
these look great, thank you for sharing!
This was the perfect recipe for tonight. I wanted quick easy and light. My husband wanted fish. Now he wants it again tomorrow!!
Thank you SO much!!
So glad you both liked it!
i made these last night and my husband and i loved them! they were fabulous! tasted like upscale restaurant food! the sauce is amazing and i will probably use it on many other dishes as well! great substitute for sour cream and has a subtle kick to it! thank you!
So glad you guys liked them! I ate the sauce on pretty much everything I could for the next 2 days after making those
These were amazing…Made a taco salad with the sauce (ie. 1/2 cup black beans, 1/2 corn kernels, 2 tbsp salsa, 1 cup arugula). It was awesome!! Thanks so much
So glad you enjoyed them! The taco salad sounds delicious
I’ve made these twice now and they are deeeeelicious!!!! Both times I did not add the arugala or the scallion. And the 2nd time I substituted sour cream for the greek yogurt (because I was out of yogurt) Hubby loves them too!!!!
Awesome, so glad you like them!
Beautiful dish, absolutely delicious! I do have to say, I will use less chili pepper next time because my mouth and chest are on fire, and I found a cut on my finger -_- I changed some things: used a whole avocado instead of half, and used small, pre-cooked frozen shrimp (about 40-50). Great with a Bud Lime!
That’s funny. The same thing has happened to me many times where I’ve had to substitute parsley for cilantro. It works, but it doesn’t look the same. Delicious dish!
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