Taco ’Bout a Good Time!

Enjoy Florida fall weather with a plate of mojo grilled shrimp tacos filled with avocado, lime crema, and pickled Stingray peppers, topped with cilantro. 

For this recipe, the shrimp tacos have a delicious lime crema on top, which includes mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, and lime zest with salt to taste. Our staff at Fogg Café also drizzled local honey on each taco to tone down the heat from the pickled peppers.

For the pickled peppers, the Fogg Team used Stingray peppers harvested from nearby veggie beds in the Marcia and L. Bates Lea Asian Garden.

To serve (6) people each (3) tacos, you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 whole jumbo packs of peeled shrimp (approximately 16 – 20 shrimp per bag)
• 3 Stingray peppers; jalapeños can be used as an alternative (2 small thinly sliced pieces of peppers per taco)
• 3 avocados (1/2 of an avocado per 3 tacos)
• 1 bunch of cilantro (for garnish)

Note: You may want to wear gloves while handling peppers.

Pickled Stingray Peppers

• 2 cups red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

First, you will need to pickle the peppers. To begin, remove the seeds, and cut into thin slices. Combine the water, red wine vinegar, and sugar into a pot, and bring the liquid to a boil. Let simmer. Then, combine all the other ingredients, and place in a closed jar or plasticware in the fridge to let sit overnight.

Pro tip: The pickled peppers can last up to a month when covered with plastic wrap; three months if sealed.

The next step is to create the lime crema for the tacos.

Lime Crema

• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 limes, first zested then squeezed
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon of honey to drizzle on top of the serving size of (3) tacos (1/4 teaspoon per taco)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Once the pickled peppers and lime crema are ready, you can marinate the shrimp in mojo marinade (this can be found at your local grocery store), then butterfly the shrimp, and grill. Next, cut the avocado into quarters; use a quarter for each taco, and then combine the pickled Stingray peppers, and lime crema.  

Don’t forget to garnish each taco with cilantro. You can pair the tacos with a mango granita, and let the sweet, cold drink extinguish the tacos’ heat!

About the Author

Darby Kordonowy is the Content Coordinator for Naples Botanical Garden. Darby loves learning! Her favorite plants are the jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) and the Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection.’ She is an amateur bird watcher!