Chilled Gulf Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce

This modern version of an Aztec dish calls for prodigious amounts of chipotle chiles, which makes the shrimp hot and smoky. Sample the heat intensity by tasting a tiny bit of the sauce. You may prefer to use fewer chiles to suit your taste. Serve the shrimp with crisp corn tortillas and slices of ripe papaya and avocado.

• 2 tomatoes
• 1 pound Mexican shrimp (16 count), peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• Sea or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano or marjoram
• 1/4 cup corn oil
• 1/4 white onion, thickly sliced
• 4 chipotle chiles en adobo
• 2 small garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)

METHOD

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill, preheat a gas grill to high, or preheat the broiler. Place the tomatoes on the grill rack or in a broiler pan and cook, turning often, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the skins are slightly blackened and blistered. When cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes.

Place the shrimp and lime juice in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, cover, and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oregano and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 to 7 minutes, until toasted. Heat the oil in a heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, until softened but not browned.

Drain the shrimp and reserve the marinade. Add the shrimp to the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp are about half-cooked. With a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp and onion to a bowl. Reserve the oil in the pan.

Combine the tomatoes, chiles, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Heat the sauté pan with the reserved oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomato mixture and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often and turning the pan to prevent the sauce from sticking or burning. Add the oregano, reserved marinade, and wine. Bring to a boil and add the shrimp and onion. Cook for about 2 minutes, just long enough to flavor the shrimp, and remove fromt he heat when the shrimp are just slightly underdone, to allow for residual cooking time.

Weather slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the sauce and place in a bowl. Cover the shrimp loosely and place inch refrigerator to chill. Pour the sauce into a separate bowl, cover loosely, and immediately refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve the shrimp well chilled with the sauce alongside.

Serves: 4

Reprinted with permission from ©2004 Smithsonian Institution and Fernando and Marlene Divina, Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions, published by Ten Speed Press.      click to read book review

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