Sautéed Shrimp with Chipotle Chiles {50 Women In Food: #47 Zarela Martinez}
Mary of One Perfect Bite and some other women food bloggers (including myself) are blogging our way through the 50 Women Game Changers In Food published by Gourmet in May ’11. Some of the women on the list you will know, others you may not, but either way, this will be a great 50 week journey to learn more about these women that inspire the way we think about food today.
Please visit Mary at One Perfect Bite, Val at More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn at Have Kitchen Will Feed, Heather at Girlichef, Jeanette at Jeanette’s Healthy Living, Sue at The View From Great Island, Barbara at Moveable Feasts, Mireya at My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen, Claudia at Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce at More Time at the Table, Kathy at Bakeaway with Me, Martha at Simple Nourished Living, Jill at Saucy Cooks, Amrita at Beetle’s Kitchen Escapades and Sarah at Everything in the Kitchen Sink for their tributes to these 50 women.
Camarones Enchipotlados
To spend a Sunday afternoon in Zarela Martinez’s kitchen would be heaven. I love Mexican food and it is one of those cuisines that has such complex and delicious flavors, yet in America it is simplified into such categories as Tex-Mex and Taco Bell. Justice? I think not. Real Mexican cuisine is rich, flavorful, and intriguing. So much culture and tradition intertwined into the dishes, Mexican food deserves to be explored. This week, we do so through Zarela Martinez. Born in Mexico and known for her authentic vivid Mexican cuisine, she took her cooking and knowledge from El Paso, Texas to New York City. If you are not familiar with her name, maybe the name Aarón Sánchez rings a bell? That is her famous son – a Food Network chef. I’d say she taught him well.
“Her mission is to make her culture in all its manifestations known and understood and has recently been named to the board of the Mexican Cultural Institute. Her website www.zarela.com is an invaluable resource for lovers of Mexican food and culture and her how-to videos on basic Mexican cooking techniques and flavor principles featured on www.youtube.com are fun and informative.”Read more about Zarela on her website About Page. This week I was drawn to this Sautéed Shrimp with Chipotle Chiles. Why? I love shrimp, chile peppers, limes. Hmmm, sounds perfect.
Mis en Place:
The Seafood marinade was a strange concoction of ingredients to say the least. I always wonder how these types of recipes come about during the development. I was none the less surprised at the flavor it gave the shrimp. Subtle, yet delicious. You could taste the underlying citrus notes and they paired well with the fire of the peppers.
Kitchen notes:
- I used one pepper and a little extra sauce to get the right amount of heat. You know – not enough to make you go for the water after every bite, but just enough to let you know it’s there.
- The shrimp does not need to stay in the marinade too long. Remember they are delicate seafood. Don’t put them in until you are ready to cook the dish.
- If you like your shrimp more charred, pat them dry before you saute them. Too much liquid and they will become more like boiled shrimp.
Adapted from Epicurious via Bon Appétit
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked medium to large shrimp, peeled, deveined
- 1 1/4 cups Seafood Marinade (recipe follows)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- cooked rice (optional)
- 1 12-ounce bottle light-colored beer (preferably lager style)
- 3/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon base (such as Knorr Swiss)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
- Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Let marinade stand 1 hour before using. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover marinade and refrigerate. Re-whisk before using.)
- Place shrimp in large bowl. Add marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes. Drain shrimp; discard marinade. Return shrimp to bowl.
- Puree 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 garlic clove, chipotle chilies, and dried oregano in processor until smooth. Transfer chipotle mixture to bowl with shrimp; toss to coat.
- Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic clove and sauté 1 minute. Add shrimp with chipotle mixture; sauté until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. Serve over rice (optional).
Notes
I used one pepper and a little extra sauce to get the right amount of heat. You know - not enough to make you go for the water after every bite, but just enough to let you know it's there.
The shrimp does not need to stay in the marinade too long. Remember they are delicate seafood. Don't put them in until you are ready to cook the dish.
If you like your shrimp more charred, pat them dry before you saute them. Too much liquid and they will become more like boiled shrimp.
In the Spotlight: Zarela Martinez
(from Wikipedia) Zarela Martinez is a New York City-based restaurateur and cookbook author born in the Mexican border town of Agua Prieta (Sonora State), who learned cooking from her mother, Aida Gabilondo, also a cookbook author. She began cooking professionally out of necessity. Martinez’s work has received awards from the New York State Restaurant Association, the Women’s Venture Fund, the Women’s Leadership Exchange, and the Orgullo Award from the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services. In July 2004, she was singled out in the “Americans at the Table” issue of the U.S. State Department’s online publication E-Journal USA: U.S. Society & Values as one of seven crucial “taste setters” who have redefined the American culinary landscape since the last half of the twentieth century.
This is a very flavourful dish from a cuisine that deserves to be explored with gusto!
This not only looks gorgeous but sounds so yummy, too! That marinade sounds wonderful…I will have to give this a try! Have a great weekend!
Great post Heather! Even though I just finished breakfast I find myself craving your shrimp. Love the combo of garlic and chilies!
Ok, so this is Blonde Jill here!! I do know that you are not Heather and my last comment was a perfect example of the fact that when we are multi-tasking something is bound to go wrong!! Sorry Miranda, but your dish was delectable and it did cause me to drool! It’s funny that while I am not so much a beer drinker, I do enjoy it in food but have never tried it with seafood. I am going to make this dish.
Miranda,
This looks so good! I could go for that right now and it’s only 9:30 a.m. Regarding the marindade it looks like everyone in the family got a vote for what to put in it. Oddly, sometimes those work out to be the best.
Beautiful post! Love shrimp any way I can get it. Happy Friday.
I was SO CLOSE to making this dish this week. It looks mouthwatering…fortunately I bought extra shrimp so I’ll probably wind up making it this weekend. Awesome!
I love sseafood and your recipe looks great. you picked a great one for our women game changers series.
This shrimp dish sounds incredible – love all the flavors going on in this recipe!
What a fantastic dish. This really sounds delicious and packed with flavor. I love shrimp so this is right up my alley. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
this looks so delicious….a must try recipe!
Wow! Another really interesting set of flavours … that marinade IS different! I agree that Ms. Martinez is such a great voice for Mexican culture and cuisine. I, too, was enthralled by her website … there’s just SO much to see and read there! You did an excellent tribute to her!