Spiced shrimp with tomatillo sauce and jicama-mango salad

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 small tomatillos, husked, washed, and cut into ½” cubes
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
½ cup avocado, cut in ½” cubes
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup (packed) flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cup jicama, peeled and julienned
1 cup mango, peeled, seeded, and julienned
½ cup red bell peppers, finely julienned
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 20 units)
¼ tsp cumin seeds, ground
¼ tsp ancho chili, ground
¼ tsp fresh orange peel
4 leafs baby red lettuce

Preparation

Combine tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, avocado, and lime juice in a blender; season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, transfer to a container, and set aside.

Combine parsley and olive oil in a blender or small food processor; add ¼ tsp coarse sea salt. Blend or process until smooth, transfer to a container, and set aside.

In a large bowl combine jicama, mango, and red peppers. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Set shrimp on a shallow bowl and pat-dry with paper towel. In a small bowl combine cumin, ancho chili, orange peel, salt and pepper with 2 tbsp olive oil; whisk well and pour over shrimp. Toss to coat and let stand for at least 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp canola oil over high heat; sauté shrimp until it is pink and cooked all the way through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Plating

Spoon 1 – 2 tbsp of tomatillo sauce onto a plate, follow with ½ tsbp of parsley oil in the opposite direction. Place 1 red leaf on each plate and top with spoon jicama-mango slaw over it. Place 5 shrimp in a row and top with additional parsley oil. Drizzle with fresh lime juice and serve!

A little trick: Brine your shrimp for better results. It will help infuse your shrimp with a ‘sea-like’ flavor and give you a great texture! Brine shrimp for 30 to 60 minutes in a salty water solution.