September 23, 2020

Shrimp and Zucchini Flower Tacos

Shrimp and Zucchini Flower Tacos are full of grilled shrimp, deep fried battered zucchini flowers, tomato, avocado, and queso fresco. The star of these tacos is definitely the zucchini flowers, but the shrimp complement them very well. Here in New York, we can only have zucchini flowers when zucchini are harvested, so this was a special treat for us.

The Equipment You’ll Need

A Deep Fry Thermometer- You’ll need this to ensure that your oil is at the perfect temperature.
A Grill Pan- I use this to warm up the tortillas and cook the shrimp. You can use any skillet, if you don’t have a grill pan.
A Three Quart Saucepan- This is a big enough pot for frying such a small amount of food.

The Ingredients You’ll Need for Shrimp and Zucchini Flower Tacos

Zucchini Flowers- Be sure to remove the stamens from the inside of your flower.
Vegetable Oil- Be sure to use vegetable oil for your deep frying of the flowers. You could also use canola or peanut oil.
Queso Fresco- You can find this with the Mexican cheeses. I keep it in the freezer and break it out for our Tex Mex meals.

How I Made my Tacos

First, I grilled my tortillas.
Next, I grilled the shrimp.
Then, I heated the frying oil. While the oil heated, I made the batter for the flowers.
Then, I fried the flowers and drained them on a rack.
Finally, I assembled my tacos.

I was so excited when I saw these beautiful zucchini flowers in the market today. I was originally going to make a shrimp and corn taco, but when I saw the flowers I knew I had put them in the taco instead. If you’re a zucchini flower lover, or want to try them, I hope you’ll try these yummy Shrimp and Zucchini Flower Tacos.

Shrimp and Zucchini Flower Tacos

Grilled Shrimp and fried zucchini flower tacos, topped with avocado, tomato, and queso fresco.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Tex-Mex

Servings

Ingredients

8 small flour tortillas
1 tbsp. butter
1 pound Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined
⅛ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups vegetable oil
1 beaten egg
⅓ cup flour
6 tbsp. buttermilk
8 zucchini flowers, pistons removed
1 sliced avocado
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup queso fresco

Instructions

On a grill pan, melt the butter and grill the tortillas on both sides. Remove the tortillas and set aside.
Toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, parsley, and extra virgin olive oil. Then grill them on the hot grill pan until they're completely opaque and cooked. Set aside and cover with foil to keep warm.
In a three quart saucepan, heat one inch of vegetable oil to 375 degrees using a frying thermometer.
In a bowl, place the egg and then stir in the flour. Then, stir in the buttermilk. The batter will be lumpy, and should be the consistency of pancake batter. When the oil is hot, dip each blossom in the batter, and let the excess drip off. Fry the flowers in two batches, for about a minute on each side, until they're golden. Drain on a wire rack.
Fill each tortilla with one flower, shrimp, avocado, tomato, and queso fresco.