Shrimp Fajitas
This is the result of living with a Mexican … sooner or later, you’ll end up having to learn how to cook some Mexican dishes!!
Funny thing is, before I moved to California I knew very little about Mexican cuisine! My first time ever being at a Mexican restaurant was back in Italy during my last year of high school: I went there with some of my classmates and I honestly can’t remember what we ordered but I remember very well barely eating anything and telling myself that I would never go eat at a Mexican restaurant again.
Oh well … we all know how things in life turn around and we end up laughing about things we said or thought years and years ago!!
If there’s one thing I am EXTREMELY thankful for about leaving my country is getting to know the many different cuisines from around the world and put an end to my discrimination towards what is NOT italian: travelling and living in different countries definitely allowed me to open up 360 degrees to new and different foods, flavors, meals and ingredient combinations. It enriched me with so much knowledge about food that I don’t think I would have ever got to where I am right now if I stayed in Italy. Those who share a similar experience, will understand immediately.
Italian food is amazing but there’s so much of the Italian kitchen that I don’t like and that I now strongly disagree with. The quality of the ingredients is definitely the top, but if you wish to eat healthy and NOURISH your body, you’ll find numerous Italian dishes, traditional beliefs and clichés that you will not want to make them part of your daily nutrition. Seriously … to all my fellow Italians, stuck in the belief that Italian kitchen is the best in the world, I’d like to send a clear message: get out and learn. There’s so much more than you think to learn from all over the world. Be proud of your culinary inheritance but be humble enough to be wanting to learn from the others.
So, back to my Mexican experience … I had to land on the Californian coast to understand what Mexican food is all about: when I first got here I would just accompany my ex to Mexican restaurants without touching anything on the table: this didn’t last long, though. After the first couple times, I discovered avocado and guacamole: this was my first “approved” side dish. From there to ceviche and from ceviche to fish or shrimp tacos, Caldo 7 Mares (fish soup), fajitas, aguachiles and anything with fish. As long as the restaurant uses fresh ingredients, as long as there is no meat (with the exception of chicken, I prefer to refrain from eating red, fatty meat), no refried beans, no “spanish” rice, nothing too fried and anything that would go against my standards of healthy meal, I’m in for it. In fact, I may not be able to survive in many parts of Mexico where all they eat is fatty meat, high glycemic carbs, fried foods and super sugary desserts and beverages, but there are many healthy choices in this cuisine. And – as usual – of every cuisine I only take the healthy options.
Here in California we have amazing Mexican food (I don’t doubt that it may be partially “Americanized”) and – aside from guacamole, which is not really a meal – my favorite go to options are usually grilled fish tacos or shrimp fajitas.
Ok, I’m not a real Mexican since I don’t eat pork and I can’t stand refried beans but I’m good enough at making my other half happy with what has become one of our favorite dishes: shrimp (or salmon, when I cannot find shrimps) fajitas.
This is a truly easy and healthy meal, versatile (cause you can use either meat or shrimps or fish), perfect for both dinner or lunch, very tasty and definitely a complete meal.
As for tortillas, I’m less Mexican here … I go with Ezechiel sprouted tortillas (higher protein, gluten-free, no refined carbs), but anyone can use what they want!Top them with cilantro and a few slices of avocado and they’re the absolute top!!
Servings |
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- 1 large red or white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 large bell peppers (possibly mixed colors)
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 2 Anaheim peppers
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 lb raw shrimps peeled and deveined
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- Salt and pepper as needed
- Cilantro for topping
- Tortillas of choice I used Ezechiel
Ingredients
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- Prepare all the veggies first: cut the onion in half and slice it length wise, not too thin. Finely chop the garlic or mince it. Wash, core and slice the pepper length wise, not too thin. Roughly chop the jalapeño and serrano peppers, carefully removing the seeds.
- For the cooking, I recommend using a non-stick pan as it will allow you to cook without adding much liquid at all.
- Once you have all of your veggies ready, you can start cooking: in your frying pan, place onion, garlic & all of the peppers with a good tablespoon of avocado oil and let them cook, frequently stirring as you would want to avoid adding any other liquid. If absolutely necessary, add some white wine but just enough so that the veggies don’t stick to the pan, you don’t want to have a broth forming. Let your veggies cook with lid on and keeping an eye on them.
- Add paprika, salt, pepper: stir and let cook.
- When the veggies are about 5 minutes away from being cooked (not crunchy but not too soft either), add the shrimps, stir again and let cook till the shrimps are done.
- Adjust with salt and pepper then serve on top of tortilla wraps and garnish with a few avocado slices & cilantro.