Directions
Place your serving dish or dishes in the freezer prior to assembling.
To prepare the shrimp
Peel, reserving the shell, remove the vein and rinse the shrimp and shell, place in a colander to drain.
Place the shrimp and shell in a pan. Add water, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns and limes. Cover and bring the mixture to a delicate simmer, do not boil. Stir, cover and allow the shrimp to steep and finish cooking while preparing the salsa. Goal is to cook the shrimp just until they are completely opaque throughout. Set cooked shrimp aside to cut just before serving.
To prepare the salsa
Roast the poblano chile directly over your gas burner or broiler. The idea is to char, blister and remove the skin. Wrap the roasted chile in plastic wrap to steam for about 5 minutes.
Remove the wrap from the chile, and scraping with the back of a knife, remove the skin. A little skin won’t spoil your sauce – on the contrary – it fortifies the smoky flavor. Chop the chile into ½-inch dice. Place the chopped chile in a bowl.
Wash, dry, then core the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into ½-inch dice and place them in the bowl with the poblano chiles.
Chop the jalapeño chile very finely and add to the tomato mixture. Add the onion and ½ cup chopped cilantro. Juice 2 ½ limes into the bowl over the tomato mixture, then drizzle with the oil and combine the ingredients.
To assemble the dish
Cut the shrimp into ½ inch pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Add the salsa, and reserved poaching liquor. Toss to combine the ingredients. Remove your frozen dish from the freezer and distribute the cut avocado over the bottom of the dish. Spoon the shrimp mixture over the avocado. Pour any remaining liquid on top. Garnish with cilantro sprays and generously top the dish with Tapatio sauce followed by freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the lime quarters.
Chef’s Narrative
Redolent of lime, chile and cilantro, this dish has distinct flavors and is a refreshing summer treat. Great for a gathering as the shrimp can be prepared up to a day prior then tossed and on the table in minutes. Serve with freshly made, warm or crisp corn tortillas.
Recipe Substitutions
Try the basic preparation with other cooked shellfish. As alternative, cooked Oregon Pink Shrimp or Dungeness crab are particularly good substitutes for the shrimp. If you choose to prepare this dish with either of those ingredients, add ½ cup of low sodium clam juice to replace the cooking liquor.
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Ingredients
For the shrimp
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16 – 20large Gulf shrimp, raw, unpeeled, about 1 pound
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1pintwater
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¼teaspooncoarse salt
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1largebay leaf
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¼teaspoonwhole black peppercorns, bruised or cracked
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1lime, quartered
For the salsa
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½small poblano chile
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2medium tomatoes (about ½ pound)
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½jalapeño or serrano chile
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⅓cupwhite onion, finely chopped
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½bunch cilantro, large stems removed, chopped (about ½ cup loosely packed) balance for garnish
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3limes, juice of 2 ½ limes, remaining half, quartered
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2tablespoonsolive or avocado oil
For the dish
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½cupreserved shrimp poaching liquor
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2avocados, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
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2tablespoonsTapatio Sauce or your favorite hot sauce
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Reserved cilantro sprays for garnish
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black pepper, freshly ground
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