Healthy Recipe: The Centered Chef’s Shrimp Veracruz Tacos

October 23, 2009 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign

Student chefs at Cooking up Change 2008

In less than a week at our Cooking Up Change healthy cooking contest, student chefs will don their aprons, judges will prepare their palates, and guests will sample the healthy, delicious, student-created school meals designed to revolutionize the way this country thinks about school food.

It's no small task — but the efforts of talented and dedicated community members such as contest co-chair Jill Houk and her colleagues at Centered Chef Food Studios help make it possible. Team mentors from Centered Chef have been supporting their teams of high school culinary arts students as they prepare for the contest by designing healthy, tasty school meals on a tight budget. They'll be on hand to cheer on their teams and will also give students an opportunity to network with working culinary professionals. Here's one easy, tasty recipe from Jill's file of favorites.

Shrimp Veracruz Tacos

Ingredients

1/2 tsp oil, olive
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp seeded and minced jalapeno
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes
1/16 tsp dried thyme
1/16 tsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp jumbo sliced olives
1 1/2 tsp capers, rinsed
2 tsp cilantro, chopped
1 lb shrimp
pan spray
8 each corn tortillas 

Sauté the onions with the olive
oil until translucent. Add the garlic and jalapeno and sauté until
fragrant. Add the lime juice, broth, tomatoes, thyme, marjoram, olives
and capers and cook until the sauce reduces and concentrates. Stir in
the cilantro and season to taste. 

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high
heat.  Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the
pan and when you see wisps of smoke, add the shrimp in a single layer.
Sear on both sides until done. 

Fill the tortillas with a few pieces
of shrimp and a spoonful of sauce.  Serve immediately. 

Servings: 8

Enjoy!