Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Shrimp Tacos and Mexican Hot Chocolate Mousse

A chocolate mousse… with avocado? Yes! Get creative this Cinco de Mayo and spice things up with help from Chef Valerie Vanderpool, Co-Founder of Capital City Kitchen.

RECIPE for Shrimp Tacos & Feisty Orange Vinaigrette:Feisty Orange Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 cup

Zest of 1 oranges

¼ cup orange juice (use same oranges from zest)

1 Tablespoons Dijon (not whole grain)

1 Tablespoons orange marmalade

1 small shallot, chopped (about 2 Tablespoons)

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt & fresh pepper

1 small handful cilantro leaves (no stems), coarsely chopped

Put zest, juice, Dijon, marmalade, shallot, garlic & cayenne in the food processor.

Pulse a few times to mix.

Turn processor on & slowly pour in oil to emulsify.

Season with salt & fresh black pepper.

Stir in chopped cilantro leaves.

Roasted Shrimp Tacos

(2 servings)

12 shrimp, peeled and deveined

sea salt + fresh black pepper, to taste

½ cup Feisty Orange Vinaigrette

8 white corn tortillas

Put parchment paper or foil on a sheet pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pat shrimp dry. Put in a bowl.

Season with sea salt and fresh black pepper.

Pour just enough vinaigrette or olive oil to coat the shrimp.

Let sit for 15-20 minutes.

Place on prepared sheet pan and put in oven. Roast for 4 minutes.

**Kitchen Note: If you are using colossal or U10 shrimp, you’ll need to roast it for 6 minutes.

Mango Salsa

(makes about 2 cups)

1 mango, small dice

¼ cup red, yellow &/or orange bell pepper, small dice

¼ cup cucumber, small dice

¼ cup jicama, small dice

2 green onion, sliced

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1-2 Tablespoons honey

cilantro leaves (no stems), coarsely chopped

sambal, to taste (you can use any hot sauce that you like)

sea salt, to taste

Stir all ingredients together and taste; adjust seasoning if necessary.About Chef Valerie:

Chef Valerie Vanderpool is the Chef + Co-Founder of Capital City Kitchen.

Noah Grant’s Catering joined forces with Chef Valerie Vanderpool of Zest and Girlie Gourmet to bring you a Living Culinary Center!

And by living, we mean alive and breathing, and taking on all types of life! Like being your only delectable catering stop, and super fun interactive food experiences you won’t want to miss! We’ll be throwing pop-up dinners, teaching cooking classes, entertaining guest speakers, doing chef collaborations, judging Knife Fight competitions and more at our space in beautiful Carmel, Indiana!

As the Founder + Chef of Girlie Gourmet, Chef Valerie created healthy chef-delivered meals and catered private events.

As the executive chef and co-founder of Zest! Exciting Food Creations restaurant and Twist lounge in the SoBro section of Indianapolis, Chef Valerie appeared on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, and the recipe for her Caramel + Sea Salt Brownies appeared in the pages of Bon Appètit magazine.

To learn more, visit www.capcitykitchen.com.