Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Smashed Avocados and Slaw Recipe

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoon EACH: granulated sugar AND smoked paprika
1 teaspoon EACH: ground cumin, salt, AND granulated garlic
¼ – ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste, omit to keep it mild)
¼ teaspoon dried thyme AND onion powder
1 ¼ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)
½ cup greek yogurt ( or ½ sour cream ½ mayo)
2-3 small cloves garlic (to preference)
½ cup loosely packed cilantro (or parsley)
3 scallions, greens only
3-4 tablespoons lime juice
½ – 1 ½ jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped (the more you add the spicier it’ll be)
10 ounces of shredded cabbage (roughly 3 ½ cups)
Tortillas or cooked rice (if you’d rather make bowls!)
Smashed avocados (see notes)/ lime wedges/ Cotija cheese

PREP TIME 20m	COOK TIME 5m	TOTAL TIME 25m
YIELD 4 servings

SHRIMP:

Combine the smoked paprika, sugar, cumin, garlic, cayenne, salt, thyme, and onion powder in a small bowl.
Place the cleaned shrimp in a medium bowl and toss with the prepared seasoning.
Allow the shrimp to marinate for roughly 5 minutes if you can.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.
Add the butter and cook the shrimp for roughly 2-4 minutes, flipping as needed to cook evenly on both sides until firm and cooked through.
If you don’t have a pan large enough, cook in two batches, you don’t want the shrimp to steam, but rather sear and blacken.

MAKE THE SLAW:

Place all the ingredients for the slaw (except the cabbage) with ½ teaspoon of salt and start with 3 tablespoons of lime juice into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Taste and adjust salt and lime juice to preference.
Toss ½ the dressing with the cabbage and adjust with more to taste.

ASSEMBLE:

Add the smashed avocados to a warm tortilla, top with slaw and blackened shrimp.
Sprinkle on cotija cheese and serve with lime wedges on the side!