Her Modern Kitchen

Eating & Living in Austin, Texas

spicy

Spicy Diablo Shrimp Tacos with Simple Slaw and Feta

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With Cinco de Mayo right around the corner, I thought we could all use a healthy & delicious taco recipe to pair with our margaritas and my Diablo Shrimp Tacos are just that! They’re spicy and fresh and are super easy to whip up for this festive holiday.

Seriously, friends, Diablo Shrimp Tacos have been on repeat in our household for the past few months. Yes, months, because they’re THAT delicious and SO easy to make. I’ve been meaning to post about them for a while but haven’t taken the time to photograph the meal until now.

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The tacos star a homemade Diablo sauce which is a spicy, tomato-based sauce. The Diablo sauce is super easy to make. You simply rough chop a few veggies, sautée, then puree! In all, it takes about 20 minutes.

The Diablo sauce can also be made ahead of time and it will last for a couple weeks if refrigerated. <3M and I have been so obsessed with this homemade Diablo sauce that we’ve been subbing it in for our regular salsa.  I top my eggs with it in the morning, use it as a dressing on kale salad, and mix it in to quinoa with beans for a spicy vegetarian meal.  It’s really so versatile.

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As for the tacos, you sauté the shrimp then finish them off by simmering the shrimp in the Diablo sauce. The tacos are then topped with sautéed veggies, salty feta cheese and a simple slaw made with apple cider vinegar, lime juice, and cilantro. Snuggle everything into your .

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Combined, the flavors are just plain addicting. These Diablo Shrimp Tacos are spicy, citrusy, and fresh. Throw in a margarita and a side of chips + guac and you have your self the perfect Cinco de Mayo fiesta.

Looking for other Cinco de Mayo inspiration? Check out my Asian Duck Confit Tacos, Chipotle Glazed Sweet Potatoes, or Coconut Cake with Lime Curd.

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5.0 from 4 reviews
Diablo Shrimp Tacos
 
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Serves: 6 tacos
Ingredients
  • For the slaw:
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped

  • For the tacos:
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
  • ½ yellow onion sliced into thin strips
  • ⅓ cup Diablo sauce, recipe below
  • 30 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and patted dry
  • 6 tortilla of choice (corn or flour)
  • ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles

  • Optional toppings:
  • sliced jalapenos
  • cilantro
  • sliced scallions
  • lime wedges
  • additional diablo sauce
Instructions
  1. Make the slaw:
  2. In a medium-sized bowl stir together the cabbage, vinegar, lime juice, and chopped cilantro
  3. Season to taste with salt and pepper
  4. Set aside while you prep the tacos
  5. Make the tacos:
  6. Spray a medium-sized skillet with olive oil and over medium heat, add the bell peppers and onion
  7. Season to taste with salt and pepper
  8. Cook until onions are golden and peppers begin to blister, stirring occasionally about 5-7 minutes
  9. Once cooked, removed peppers and onions from pan and set aside
  10. Wipe pan clean, return to heat and spray again with olive oil spray
  11. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes
  12. Once partly cooked, add the diablo sauce and a 2 tablespoons water
  13. Stir to coat the shrimp and simmer 2-3 minutes until shrimp are cooked through*
  14. To assemble:
  15. Warm tortillas over a medium-high flame until they begin to brown slightly
  16. Place 5 shrimp in each taco shell, adding a bit of the Diablo sauce from the pan
  17. Top with slaw and feta cheese crumbles
  18. Serve with additional toppings and extra diablo sauce on the side
Notes
* If you'd like a thinner sauce, add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of water to the pan until desired consistency is reached

 
5.0 from 4 reviews
Diablo Sauce
 
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Serves: 1 pint
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 large cloves of garlic, roughly minced
  • ½ serrano chile, stemmed and roughly diced
  • ½ small yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
  • juice of half a lemon
Instructions
  1. Melt butter with the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat
  2. Once melted, add garlic, serrano chile, and onions
  3. Cook until onions have turned golden in color
  4. Stir in chili powder, brown sugar, paprika, tomatoes and salt to taste
  5. Bring everything to a boil then reduce to simmer, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes
  6. Transfer to a food processor and add lemon juice
  7. Process until pureé is smooth
  8. Store in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

 

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp

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Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp is a comfort dish with soft, cheesy polenta and spicy sautéed shrimp in a smoky tomato sauce.

Polenta has this reputation as being a fussy mess of dish to make but in reality, it’s truly a cinch! My recipe for Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp is delicious, comforting and the perfect dish to hook you on homemade polenta!

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp

When I first started cooking with polenta I was using those rubbery tubes of polenta you buy in the grocery store. You know the exact tubes I’m talking about….As a side note, I must say, whoever got the idea to make polenta and put it in a plastic casing to sell it at the grocery store is a pure genius! They’re making bank on it!

Now that I’ve mastered making polenta at home, I’m completely appalled with myself for wasting so much money on a tube of polenta when a bag of cornmeal can make 10x the amount of polenta for just a fraction of the cost and all in less than 30 minutes.

Polenta truly can be made in 4 easy steps —

  1. Boil water
  2. Pour in cornmeal
  3. Vigorously whisk polenta for 2 minutes
  4. Cover & simmer on low for 20 minutes

Voila! You have homemade polenta in literally in less than 30 minutes.

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp

As I mentioned, since polenta has this notion of being an impressive dish, when you  make this for others, don’t tell them just how easy it was for you to whip up! You should simply sit back, relax and let the compliments roll in because truthfully, you did make a spectacular dish of polenta and those 2 minutes of whisking makes the praise well deserved!

In this dish for Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp, I kick up the polenta a notch by melting in a handful cheese then topping it with sauteed onions, a simple fresh tomato sauce, and spicy shrimp.  The great part about making this meal, is that while the polenta is simmering, you have just enough time to prep and cook the sauce and shrimp.

Besides the polenta, the other key ingredients in this Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp recipe are fresh thyme and smoked paprika.  Since the shrimp are cooked on the stovetop rather than on the grill, the smoked paprika adds a hint of spice and smokiness that melts deliciously into the cheesy, soft polenta.

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp

As for the thyme — which needs to be fresh — it brings an herby depth to the meal which is added right at the end of cooking. If you choose to use dried thyme in place of fresh, I take no blame in the final results or your review of my Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp. I’m warning you, they key here is fresh thyme.

This Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp dish is true comfort food. It’s an impressive, show-stopping meal that will leave you feeling warm, full and undeniably happy with your own culinary talent. It’s the type of meal you want to savor but it also fits in well to a time-crunched weeknight!

5.0 from 2 reviews
Creamy Polenta with Spicy Shrimp
 
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A comfort dish with creamy, cheesy polenta and spicy sauteed shrimp in a smoky tomato sauce.
Serves: 4 meals
Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons salt, divided
  • 1 cup polenta or yellow cornmeal
  • ⅓ cup grated Parmesan
  • ⅓ cup shredded Italian cheese
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes*
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • ~24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • ½ teaspoon cajun seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tablespoons cream**
  • Optional: additional grated cheese, thyme or red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 teaspoon salt and 4 cups of water to a boil.
  2. Once boiling, reduce stove to low and slowly add in the polenta whisking constantly during the addition
  3. Continue to whisk vigorously for 2 minutes then cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes
  4. While the polenta simmers, begin cooking the vegetables and shrimp
  5. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the cajun seasoning, cumin, chili powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and smoked paprika. Set aside
  6. Heat the olive oil In a large skillet over medium-high heat
  7. Add the sliced onions, garlic and red pepper flakes
  8. Cook until onions begin to brown lightly
  9. Add in the grape tomatoes and cook until soft
  10. Once the tomatoes are softened, add in the shrimp and saute until cooked on both sides, about 2-3 total
  11. To finish the shrimp, onions and tomatoes add in the thyme leaves and 2 tablespoons of cream, stirring lightly and remove from heat.
  12. To finish the polenta, once 20 minutes has passed, remove the polenta from the heat whisk in the butter, cheeses, and salt until incorporated throughout.
  13. To serve, spoon polenta into a dish and top with the shrimp and vegetables
  14. Garnish with additional fresh thyme, grated cheese or red pepper flakes
Notes
*If you have a mild palate when it comes to spice, I would suggest leaving the red pepper flakes out and simply rely on the cajun seasoning for spice. You can always add a bit of red chili flake prior to serving if more spice is desired.
**Milk may be substituted but it's not recommended to use anything less than 2%

Creamy Polenta - Pinterest