Camarones Enchilados

I have a terrible addiction. Part of my starting this blog was to help me with this problem. It was beginning to take over and I needed to get it under control.  My name is Shawn, and I hoard recipes.  Nothing brings me greeter joy than thumbing through a magazine, or newspaper, and finding a great recipe to try.  I play the recipe through my head. I plan little scenarios for them. This would be great on a warm evening, out on the patio.  This would be great when we have people over to watch a football game.  This would be perfect with some steamed kale, or collard greens. Oh the possibilities of a new recipe! 

I really thought I had it under control because I was “organized” about it. And really, who doesn’t need a new recipe from time-to-time? Cooking is a daily chore, and recipes keep it interesting.

The ritual would go like this.   First I would sit down with a magazine, casually flip through the issue, and dog tag any pages that seemed promising. The second time I would go through the magazine I would spend time reviewing my dog tagged pages to see if they were really  worth keeping (could I come up with a feasible enough scenario).  If they were, then I would carefully remove the page and place it in a binder. Yes, a nice three-ring binder.  I have page protectors and everything.

As I began to fill my binder I realized I really needed to classify these recipes in some way.  I mean what’s the use in saving something if you can’t find it when you need it? So I created tabs –Soup, Salads, Vegetarian Entrees, Asian, Mexican – you get the gist.  Here in lies the problem. I began saving so many recipes that one of two things began to happen:  (1) I would throw the recipe into the front of the binder - no page protector, no classification, no nothing, or (2) I began finding magazine pages randomly placed throughout my house, more often than not dispersed amongst my piles of magazines or in my “things I’ll get to someday” pile. The problem was I wasn’t getting to them, nor did I even know that I had them.

This is not what organization should look like

Now I have heard of people who have a rule that if they have not worn something in a year, they need to get rid of it. I began to think this was the approach I needed to take with my recipes. If I haven’t used it, it’s out of there. Or better yet, if I find a new recipe I really want to keep (and plan to cook in the next year), then one of the old recipes has to go (this rule I actually do follow when I buy something new – out with the old, in with the new).

Which brings us to Wednesday night: Camarones Enchilados. I have had this recipe since May 2010 and have never made it. Man am I glad that I finally got around to it. It is so darn good.  This is not your typical enchilada recipe, hence the "enchilado" name.  I would call it a deconstructed enchilada.  You create this beautiful, flavorful red sauce (crushed tomatoes, capers, red wine, garlic), then add fat, juicy shrimp, with a hit of fresh lime at the end.   Wrapped in warm flour tortillas with cilantro and queso fresco – they are like a messy soft taco.  And don't even get me started on queso fresco. I will be using this cheese in place of feta any old day. You will so thank me for this recipe, or actually Real Simple magazine. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

One last note, the huz wanted me to let you know that the clean up for this dinner was a snap. He said it was the easiest clean up he has had all weeek.  I love this guy.

Camarones Enchilados

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 25m | Total Time: 55m

Real Simple Magazine May 2010 - By Alejandra Ramos

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika, preferably smoked
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• kosher salt
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon capers, chopped
• 1 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/4 pounds peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
• 8 small whole-wheat tortillas, warmed
• Sliced avocado, chipotle-flavored hot sauce, and crumbled queso fresco (fresh white Mexican cheese, available in many supermarkets) or Feta, for serving

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, crushed red pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add the cilantro, wine, capers, and tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.



Messy is good!

3. Add the shrimp and lime juice to the tomato mixture and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with the tortillas, avocado, hot sauce, queso fresco, cilantro, and lime wedges, if desired.