Super easy 5-minute dinner for an easy Cinco de Mayo! Also great for any Taco night such as Taco Tuesday. It happens to be a super healthy, meatless, pescatarian dinner, but filling, tasty and lean protein-packed. Its a gluten-free dinner if you use corn tortillas.

Because of quarantine I have kept this recipe super simple and flexible with plenty of substitution options and only a few basic ingredients which are in season in spring and summer.

As you can see I couldn’t get my hands on real tortillas and had to make do with wraps-let’s pretend it was an intentional healthy prawn burrito wrap! Agreat at-home lunch idea too!

I must admit I plan to edit a lot of my pictures and posts after quarantine, but for now easy no-fuss 5 minute meals with simple ingredients (and which are kid-friendly and great family meals and also good for those cooking for one or two) out in time for quarantine needs are the main priority!

If you don’t have an outdoor grill no worries!

Ingredients:

12 deveined, peeled medium shrimp/ tiger prawns..about 250-280 grams so just over 1/2 lb approx

Spice mix:

1 tsp chipotle chili powder (or more to tolerance, or sub blended chili powder. use less chipotle for kids, you can add more blended chili powder or cumin or a good pinch of paprika instead of some of the spicier spices)

optional: a pinch or two of red chili powder or 1/2-2/3 tsp blended chili powder (if you like it milder use the blended chili powder instead of red chili powder, as the blend has other spices like coriander, garlic and cumin, if you like it very mild use a bit less)

1/3 tsp garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, diced and sautéed for a minute first before adding prawns)

1/3 tsp cumin powder (if using blended chili powder which contains a bit of cumin in it, you can reduce it a bit, but i like its smokey flavour)

(sub: alternatively you can use 1/2 tsp of chili powder with less cumin and with less garlic powder, it will be similair though not exactly the same)

Please note chili powder loses its heat as it ages. If you are using freshly bought chili powders you may need to use less, depending on your spice tolerance. Also in general if your ground spices are older than 8-12 months this will start to affect the potency and flavour outcome, especially spices such as paprika etc, which is why it is suggested to use new spices every year and buy smaller amounts. There are certain spices/ dried herbs like garlic powder that I use more of and recommend buying a larger size.

salt and pepper

1/2 tbsp lime juice to add to pan

Optional: a good pinch of brown sugar

For serving :

Tropical salsa: diced mango, lime juice, avocado (or guac-recipe here)..if you have diced pineapples chunks, red onion, diced red bell pepper, 1/2-1 diced and seeded jalapeño, and cilantro, great if you don’t in quarantine, its still good, improvise!

corn tortillas or flour tortillas, warmed

salsa, to match I love this pairing of sweet pineapple tomato salsa with smokey cumin and spice (If not using ready salsa do add a diced and seeded jalapeno to your mango salsa for kick or sub with some red chili flakes for the family member who wants theirs spicier while others like it mild)

Directions:

Note: if using fresh or thawed prawns marinade them first in the spice rub for 20-30 minutes (in which case a little less spices may perhaps be used according to taste-i used frozen unthawed prawns that I couldn’t marinade when measuring these proportions).

Preheat a griddle or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Warm some oil such as avocado oil or olive oil. If using fresh garlic, saute it for a minute. Add the prawns/medium shrimp. Add the spices and salt and the 1/2 tbsp. of lime juice and stir well to coat each shrimp. Flip the prawns once they are pink on one side.

Depending if you are using fresh or frozen prawns the timing will differ slightly, but they take only a few minutes or less per side and you can tell they are done when they are pink and opaque and reach 145 degrees internal temperature. Place on cutting board and cut off the shrimp tails.

Make the salsa with the ingredients you have in quarantine. The mango pairs amazingly with prawns. Season the diced avocado with salt and lime juice or make guacamole.

Serve on warmed tortillas with fresh mango salsa plus a pineapple tomato salsa. This time I just did an avocado mango salsa, and I do recommend using the mango for juicy sweetness. if desired you can replace avocado with guacamole.

Paleo sub: omit tortillas and enjoy as a salad bowl with a side of cassava chips.

I have and like this guac lock which keeps guacamole fresh longer by releasing the air from the container.

Also check out the search bar or the menu under Beverages for a refreshing Pina colada recipe or one of two fresh mango cocktail recipes to pair with this dish on Cinco de Mayo!