Shrimp with Avocado-Mango Salsa

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Today is my last day of vacation.  I’m going to be sad to leave. This place is so amazing. Yesterday we went to Ocracoke Island and went shelling on the beach.  I got a couple nice shells. I also got this amazing shot of these seagulls while I was on the ferry. What do you think? Do you love it as much as I do? I swear they almost look fake.

Now. Onto the food. The real reason all of you visit my site I made these shrimp packets a few weeks ago and have been in love since.  This meal is simple and packed full of flavor. I make a chicken dish where I cook everything in foil but never tried shrimp.  The original recipe calls to grill the packet but we do not have a grill at our house.  So instead of grilling I opted I to bake the packets. It worked out fine. Perfectly steamed and a complete success.  There is a lot of chopping involved in the salsa so I would recommend doing it earlier in the day and letting the flavors set. That way the whole dinner prep time is not spent chopping. You could probably do it a day before if you wanted too but I would probably leave the avocado out until closer to serving. You don’t want it getting too mushy.  Also, the original recipe called for using only one mango but I bumped that up to two. I think the extra mango balanced out the rest the salsa ingredients. I also just really really really love mango. (I have to apologize for the pictures. The meal is a hot mess to photograph but it’s tastes delicious!)

Enjoy!!!

Shrimp with Avocado-Mango Salsa:

Vegetable oil cooking spray

8 cups baby spinach

1 cup couscous

1 pound medium shrimp – shelled and deveined

1 teaspoon Badia Tropical Sazon*

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro – divided

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt – divided

2 large mangos – peeled and diced

1 medium avocado – diced

1 medium tomato – diced

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 jalapeño chile – seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Using cooking spray coat inside of four 18-inch long pieces of foil.

Place 2 cups spinach in center of each piece of foil.

Combine couscous with 1/4 cup water; divide evenly among packets, placing on top of spinach.

Combine shrimp, Badia tropical sazon, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Divide shrimp evenly among packets, placing next to couscous.

Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal; put onto cookie sheet and add to oven. I cooked two packets at at time because my oven is small. Cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 – 12 minutes.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl. Carefully open foil; stir contents; garnish with salsa before serving.

* You could use any spice you have in your pantry if you do not have Badia Tropical Sazon. Garlic, coriander, jerk season, etc. They would all be delicious. You could also leave out the seasoning and the packet would still be full of flavor from the fresh salsa.

Source: Loosely adapted from Self Magazine

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