Maren Caruso
Seared Shrimp
Recipe reprinted with permission from ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge by Deborah M. Schneider, Chef’s Press Inc., 2014. Photo by Maren Caruso.
Makes 6 servings
The Sauce:
2 T. butter
1 ½ T. minced shallot
1 t. chopped garlic
3 T. minced fresh ginger
2 t. cornstarch
2 c. freshly squeezed tangerine juice
In saucepan over medium heat: melt butter and saute the shallot, garlic and ginger until just softened; do not brown. Mix cornstarch with 1 cup of tangerine juice until dissolved. Add to pan and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add remaining 1 cup of juice. Turn off heat and set sauce aside for 15 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve and keep warm over very low heat while you cook the shrimp
The Shrimp:
1 T. olive oil
2 ½ lbs. best-quality large shrimp, preferably Mexican, peeles and deveined (tails may be left on)
12 grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ t. crushed red chile
Pinch of kosher salt
¼ c. chopped cilantro leaves
½ lemon
1 dried pasilla, ancho, or guajillo chile, seeded, toasted and ground
In large frying pan or well-seasoned wok, heat oil over high heat until it shimmers. Pat shrimp dry with paper towel and add to the pan all at once. After about 5 minutes, when shrimp are half-cooked (curled and pink but slightly soft), add the tomatoes, crushed chile, and salt. Cook and stir just until the shrimp are firm; do not overcook. Remove pan from heat and stir in ¼ cup of strained sauce and half of cilantro. Squeeze lemon over shrimp.
To serve: Heap shrimp and tomatoes onto heated serving plates. Drizzle each serving with some of the remaining sauce, sprinkle with some cilantro and ground chile, and serve.
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