Camarón al Guajillo
The version of this dish is prepared with a sauce of pureed guajillo peppers. I decided to elevate the traditional sauce with herbs and a touch of butter. It’s deep red color alone awakens the appetite; a little butter adds to the creaminess, and herbs bring about extra layers of aroma and flavor.
Guajillo pepper is one of Mexico’s milder varieties. Though not necessary, I chose to use puya peppers too to add some spiciness. Puya is very similar in taste and texture to Guajillo. If you prefer the milder sauce, only use guajillo. Puya wasn’t commonly available in Southern California a few years ago so this is my first use of it. I liked it.
Interestingly, this recipe reminds me very much of the New Orleans classic, barbecued shrimp. Despite it’s name, that dish never touches a barbecue or grill. So I’m borrowing some ideas of this recipe to elevate my recipe. Let’s get started.
Ingredients
Serves 2
Sauce
6 Guajillo peppers or 3 each Guajillo and puya peppers
1 large clove of garlic
¼ cup of onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon maggi seasoning sauce (optional)
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
Shrimp
¾ lb peeled and deveined shrimps, count of 10-12
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon thyme fresh or dry
¼ teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped or dry
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
Preparation
Sauce
Lightly wash the peppers under running water to remove dust and pat dry, remove stems and seeds from pods and place pods in a hot skillet for 30-40 seconds to activate the aromatic oils.
Move peppers to a bowl and cover with about 1½ cups of water. Soak the peppers for about an hour or until the pods are completely soft turning them during the soak period.
Place the peppers, garlic and onion in a blender, add enough soaking water to create a puree until finely milled, adding more soaking water if necessary.
Set up a kitchen sieve over a glass bowl, then strain the puree to extract the solids then discard the remaining solids. If necessary, thin out the puree with small amounts of water to the consistency of thin pancake batter. This recipe generates about a cup of Guajillo sauce
Shrimp
Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Meanwhile, toss to coat the shrimp with half of the herb mixture of oregano, thyme, rosemary and salt. Add the oil to the skillet. Add shrimp and partially cook, flipping once until each side turns pink, about 30 seconds each side. Transfer shrimp to a plate, set aside.
To the skillet, add 1 cup of sauce, the second half of herbs, lemon juice, maggi seasoning and butter. At medium low heat stir the ingredients until the butter is melted. Return shrimp to the skillet and cook the shrimp, 2-3 minutes. Lightly salt to taste.
This dish pairs well with rice, garnish each serving with parsley.
Note:
California chile is a good substitute for Guajillo. Many recipes briefly boil dry chile peppers to soften. I believe this technique creates bitterness in the chile so I chose not to boil.
Hmmm a perfect Lenten meal!