Ya’ll it has been HOT this week. I know it cooled down finally today, but the heat wave inspired me to think about dishes I prepped back when I lived in a top-floor apartment with no A/C. Back then, there was no way I was turning on an oven or toaster, and even a stove burner couldn’t be on for too long. I relied on the three S’s: salads, smoothies & shrimp! Shrimp was the one protein I liked that could cook fast enough to not generate too much excess heat – and can be thrown into a lot of dishes. I also KNEW I wanted to try quick-pickling my kohlrabi, and so this dish was born. I’m no expert, but I think the sourness of the pickles and the coolness of the lime & scape crema really balance each other out beautifully.
I did add some extra heat-minutes with the scapes, but you could easily omit those, buy cooked shrimp, or use canned black beans as your protein to cut down on heat time or make it a totally heat-free cooking experience!
A few ingredients I didn’t include because of availability and my own tastes but would go AMAZING with this recipe: avocado, cilantro, and (if you were more diligent with preserving than I was last year) homemade salsa!
Try this one out today – or next time it’s too hot to even think about touching a preheat button!
Shrimp Tacos with Quick-Pickled Kohlrabi
Ingredients
Quick Pickles
- 1 kohlrabi
- 1/2 large red onion
- 1-2 cups vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
Crema
- 3 garlic scapes
- oil
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1/2 lime
Tacos
- corn flour tortillas sub in your wrap of choice – could even make lettuce cups!
- green head lettuce
- shrimp, cleaned & tails removed your choice on buying cooked or not – I got mine already cooked because that's what I had available
- taco seasoning (chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic, onion, oregano, sea salt, sugar & cayenne) adjust to your spice level
Instructions
Quick Pickles
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Peel the greenish rind from your kohlrabi until just the while flesh inside remains. I use a knife because my vegetable peeler isn't thick enough. Cut into matchsticks. Slice your red onion into thin strips. Place these in a clean glass jar – you can make them each separately but I made them together.
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Add the sugar, salt and vinegar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until all the sugar and salt is dissolved. Using a funnel or steady hand, pour carefully into the jar. If the onion and kholrabi are not fully submerged, you can top it off with some more vinegar.
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Allow to come to room temperature, then cover the jar and put in the fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Note: this is not a shelf-stable product. Quick pickles should be stored in the fridge and used within two weeks.
Crema & Tacos
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Defrost shrimp if they're frozen. Small-dice the garlic scapes. Cut the lime into wedges. Wash & shred the lettuce.
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Heat a small drizzle of oil in a pan on medium and add the garlic scapes. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
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Transfer cooked scapes to a small bowl (reserving the pan) and mix in the sour cream. Squeeze the lime wedges and mix again, then set aside.
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To the reserved pan, add your shrimp. Cook according to directions (typically 3-4 minutes), or until warmed-through for previously cooked shrimp. I wait to add seasoning so I can see the desired colour change in the shrimp that indicates doneness. Add your seasoning to the pan and stir until shrimp are evenly coated. Remove from heat.
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Assemble your masterpiece! Here you can get creative but I put down my tortillas (accidentally bought tiny ones, so layered three in a row), then made a bed of shredded lettuce and added the pickled onion and kholrabi there. I made a line of shrimp and spooned the crema overtop.