Description
Tacos Gobernador, aka crispy shrimp tacos. Featuring chunks of shrimp tossed in a saucy tomato chile mixture and piled into tortillas with melted cheese. They’re bold in flavor, slightly spicy, and wonderfully crispy.
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes, cored and diced
- 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and minced*
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon honey, or sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound large shrimp (26/30), peeled, deveined, and tails removed
- 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil, or vegetable oil
- 12 Frescados (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas
- 8 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
- shredded romaine lettuce
- diced avocado
- fresh cilantro
- hot sauce
Instructions
Heat oven to 450ºF with rack set in lowest position. Combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, tomato paste, honey, lime juice, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add tomato mixture and cook until liquid has thickened and mostly evaporated, and tomatoes begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut shrimp into ½-inch pieces. Remove skillet from heat and stir in shrimp; set aside.
Brush 2 rimmed baking sheets with 2 tablespoons oil (1 tablespoon per sheet). Arrange 6 tortillas in a single layer on each prepared sheet. Brush remaining 2 tablespoons oil over tortillas.
Divide pepper Jack evenly among tortillas, then top with shrimp mixture. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until bottoms and edges of tortillas are golden brown and crisp and cheese is melted, 9–14 minutes.
Top tacos with lettuce, avocado, cilantro, and hot sauce, if using. Quickly fold tacos in half and arrange, standing up, in a rimmed platter or dish. Serve with lime wedges and additional hot sauce.
Notes
For a more mild, less-spicy taco filling, seed the jalapeño before mincing.
Buying a block of pepper Jack and shredding it yourself makes all the difference. It’s creamier and meltier than pre-shredded cheese because it isn’t tossed with an anti-caking agent.
The shrimp do not need to be cooked through on the stove top—they’ll finish cooking in the oven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tacos
- Calories: 453
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 756mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 29g
- Cholesterol: 149mg
Keywords: Tacos Gobernador, Crispy Shrimp Tacos