Frida Kahlo’s Shrimp Tacos

For this week’s Frida Frida recipe, we offer these traditional shrimp tacos enjoyed by the amada artista Frida Kahlo. As captured by Guadalupe Rivera, the daughter of Frida’s husband, the legendary painter Diego Rivera, in her cookbook written with Marie-Pierre Colle, Frida’s Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo, this taco recipe is easy to make and promises to heat up your taste buds, thanks to its use of serrano chiles.

Let’s Cook Like Frida in Honor of Her Art

We are celebrating favorite traditional Mexican dishes loved by Frida, in honor of her many exhibitions this year. One of the most famous and recognizable artists of all time, Frida Kahlo is extra everywhere right now. Thanks to a seven-city Immersive Frida Kahlo show, the Mexican painter’s work and larger-than-life vida are being celebrated in light, sound and immersive visuals in: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.immersive-frida.com.

And if you happen to live or be in the Chicago area, catch more Frida at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Home to one of the largest Mexican art collection in the United States, the museum is hosting two shows about the artista this year. The first is Surrounding Kahlo: Works from the Permanent Collection, March 5, 2022 to January 15, 2023. The second is Frida Kahlo, Her Photos, a powerful exhibition of her own photography, open April 1 through August 6, 2022. We plan to go to all three shows here at Familia Kitchen. And then come home and cook like her, beginning with these shrimp tacos!

The Shrimp Tacos Frida Kahlo Loved

Everyone experiences hardship in their lives, but Frida certainly seemed to receive more than her fair share. During Lent in 1943, Frida caught wind that Diego was having an affair with a Hungarian painter. She fled La Casa Azul, her home with Diego, for a few days, taking Guadalupe with her. 

Their destination: the pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacán, Mexico. As they took in the “City of the Gods” with its towering Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, Frida started sketching. Ignoring the scorching sun, she patiently drew what she saw, letting her heart take control of her hands. The wavering lines and somber background of her drawing that day paralleled Frida’s fragile emotional condition, Guadalupe writes. 

Later they visited a dear family friend, Don Tomás, who counseled Frida: “Niña Fridita, you have more suffering before you, but … you and Don Diego will not be able to live apart … You will die together and after your death, will be a single shining star, sun and moon in conjunction,” according to Guadalupe.

Frida and Guadalupe stayed with Don Tomás and his family for the next several days. Their hospitality included these memorable shrimp tacos. May we all be inspired by Frida to find hope in time sof pain and seek solace during hardship, starting with breaking bread and enjoying a sabroso dish like these shrimp tacos with people we love during lent, summer or any time of year.

Ready to Try These Shrimp Tacos Enjoyed by Frida Kahlo?

Frida Kahlo’s Shrimp Tacos

Recipe by Guadalupe Rivera, Frida’s Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo

5.0 from 1 vote

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, chopped

• 4 serrano chiles, chopped

• 4 Tbsp butter

• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

• salt, to taste

• black pepper, to taste

• 1 lb shrimp, cooked

• 24 tortillas

Directions

• Sauté onion and chiles in butter until onion becomes translucent.
• Add tomatoes with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Cook for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes are thoroughly cooked. If the sauce becomes too thick, thin it with chicken broth or water.
• Add the precooked shrimp and saute for 2 minutes, just until they are heated through.
• Fill the tortillas with the shrimp mixture and serve piping hot.

Notes

• You can also serve this shrimp mixture as a side, with rice and tortillas.