Sorry for the short hiatus guys, I was in Jamaica with The Husband on our traditional August trip. We had an absolute blast! I, of course, ate my way through the weekend, tasting and trying everything I possibly could.
Jamaican food is my type of food. It's full of spices, local produce and influenced by lots of different cultures including Spanish, Irish, British, African, Indian, French and Chinese. It inspired me, and when I got home, I couldn't wait to get into the kitchen.
So after work yesterday I stopped and hit the grocery store. I had a plan for taco Tuesday!
I could spend hours in a produce section. I swear.
Anyway, the mangoes in Jamaica were on point! I mean just perfectly perfect, sweet and juicy. Lucky me, they are in season and the store had some beauties!
I wanted to make a Jamaican-inspired salsa, but I couldn't find any scotch bonnet peppers. They only had Serrano, but it worked, adding a little heat to this super fresh salsa.
Next, I needed a sauce. So, I decided to use avocado with some yogurt and cilantro for a fresh, bright note on the taco.
Finally, the meat. I was originally thinking beef but only had ground turkey in the freezer. Well, that ended up to be a happy accident. The ground turkey worked really well with the mushrooms.
Normally I use cremini, but I decided to be adventurous and go with Shitake. I've never cooked with them before. They added a wonderful texture and flavor to the meat.
I also added some onion, poblano peppers and spiced it with chili powder, cumin, and allspice as another hat tip to Jamaica.
The result was fan-freakin-tastic!
We assembled the tacos and ogled them for a bit. They were just beautiful!
Even the leftovers I packed for lunch were total food porn.
I ate that this afternoon and I swear it was even better than the night before.
What did the family think?
Well, The Husband declared it our best taco night yet. I was shocked as he usually snubs his nose at ground turkey and prefers beef or even fish for his tacos.
The 13-Year-Old loved the salsa, but I'm not sure he was blown away by the whole arrangement as much as The Husband. He could do without the sauce.
The 7-Year-Old, well, he's the reason we celebrate Taco Tuesday. He loves them, and I can typically get a variety of veggies and such in him by just offering grated cheese. He'll put a little of everything I make, top it with cheese and go to town. He's not into fruit at all so the salsa was a no-go, but he ate some cubed avocado on the side.
I'll take it.
I decided to share the recipes for each component separately. This way you can print just the ones you want.
Oh! and I have some of that salsa leftover. It's going on some seared tuna for my lunch tomorrow!
Ingredients
- 2 mangos cut into small cubes ~225 g
- ½ sweet onion diced ~50 g
- 1 oz lemon juice juice of ½ lemon
- ½ green bell pepper diced ~50g
- ½ red bell pepper diced ~50g
- 1 serrano pepper diced as small as possible
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use (at least 15 minutes).
📖 Recipe
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 mangos cut into small cubes ~225 g
- ½ sweet onion diced ~50 g
- 1 oz lemon juice juice of ½ lemon
- ½ green bell pepper diced ~50g
- ½ red bell pepper diced ~50g
- 1 serrano pepper diced as small as possible
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use (at least 15 minutes).2 mangos cut into small cubes, ½ sweet onion diced, 1 oz lemon juice, ½ green bell pepper diced, ½ red bell pepper diced, 1 serrano pepper diced as small as possible
Notes
- I wanted to use a scotch bonnet pepper as an homage to Jamaica, but they didn't have any at my grocery store so serrano it was. Any small hot pepper would work.
- Keep the seeds in the hot pepper for extra heat
- Make sure the mangoes are as ripe as possible. You want them super sweet and juicy!
Nutrition
📖 Recipe
Avocado Cilantro Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ avocado ~50g
- large handful of fresh cilantro ~20g
- ½ oz lime juice ½ fresh lime
- 1 oz 28g nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 oz coconut water
- healthy pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small blender or bullet. Process until smooth.½ avocado, large handful of fresh cilantro, ½ oz lime juice, 1 oz 28g nonfat Greek yogurt, 3 oz coconut water, healthy pinch of salt
Notes
- I had coconut water, so I used coconut water. If you don't, don't stress. Almond milk or even straight up water would be fine to thin it out.
Nutrition
📖 Recipe
Shitake, Poblano Turkey Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz package of Shitake Mushrooms diced ~100g
- 3 Poblano Peppers chopped ~150g
- 1 sweet onion chopped ~100g
- 1 lb lean ground turkey 93%
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- juice of ½ lemon
- juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Wash and prepare the mushrooms, peppers, and onion.3.5 oz package of Shitake Mushrooms diced, 3 Poblano Peppers chopped, 1 sweet onion chopped
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey with the cut vegetables. Add the salt and spices, cook until the peppers soften (about 10 minutes).3 Poblano Peppers chopped, 1 lb lean ground turkey, 2 pinches kosher salt, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon allspice, juice of ½ lime
- Squeeze in the lemon and lime juices and scrap any yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.juice of ½ lemon
Notes
- I love the shitake in this, but if you can't get your hands on them, Baby Bellas (cremini) or button mushrooms would be yummy too.
- I had a half each of lemon and lime because of the other dishes I made alongside. If you only have one or the other just use what you have. The meat needed a splash of acid to help bring it together. Make sure to cook it a bit after you add it to tone down the citrus taste a bit.
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