Saturday, March 25, 2006

Shrimp Fajitas

We keep a two-pound bag of frozen easy-peel shrimp on hand at all times - just in case! - so thursday evening we pulled a couple of handfulls out and let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight. We knew that on friday evening we'd employ the trusty grill pan and whip up some easy, delicious SHRIMP FAJITAS - YEA!!!!!!!
Peel the shrimp (these are already de-turded and broken open on the back, so it is easy) and then we de-vein them too. I guess you don't need to do remove the vein but - let's go the extra mile, shall we? With a tiny-bladed knife, it's easy to slice down and pull that thing out and just wipe onto a paper towel. Alright, yeah, it isn't fun, but it's worth it.

We don't have an outdoor grill yet, having just moved to a house with a porch a few months ago from a completely "landlocked" apartment in the city, so we use our Calphalon grill pan, which is the next best thing. (If you just have a regular sauté pan, hey - you get a great fajita that way, too...) Slice up a big green pepper and throw into a plastic bowl (with a cover) with a fajita-seasoning combo of cumin, chili powder, salt, red pepper and a little olive oil to get the seasoning spread all over the pepper slices. Put the top on and shake shake shake and then right onto the hot grill pan (medium-high heat).

As one of us tosses those peppers, the other slices an onion and into the bowl it goes for it's seasoning and shaking... after a few minutes head start, push the peppers to one half of the pan and add the seasoned onions to the other half. Toss and cook both sides and get those peeled shrimp into the bowl as the last contestant on Season and Shake!

The shrimp won't take but a couple minutes on the grill pan, so get your accoutrements ready - throw whole wheat tortillas on a plate covered with wrap into the microwave for 45 seconds. We like a little shredded mexican cheese, some sour cream and some salsa over the top. Get all that out and when you're about ready, add the shrimp to the grill. Let those cook on one side for 2-3 minutes, flip and do it again and you're ready. Just scoop a layer of peppers and onions onto a tortilla wrap, then 4 or 5 shrimp (ours are LARGE), then a little cheese, a dollop of sour cream and some salsa, roll it up like a cigar and enjoy hot!

Crack a beer and turn on the basketball tourney and away we go!

Til next time...

~El Cocinero de Boston

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I like to keep that same bag of frozen, easy peel shrimp on hand. It gives me a sense of security because if all else fails-you can fix shrimp. I love shrimp fajitas.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the recipe! I typically mix all the veggies together with seasoning (whatever I have on hand), then saute on high heat for a few minutes, to get them cooked but still crunchy(I love crunch). This method was good. However, realizing now after reading your "method", that I was introducing too much water at once(water from cooking the veggies). So tonight I will seperate the onion, bell pepper, and cook them. I too love shrimp and keep some in the freezer. Thanks a ton for your recipe!

Anonymous said...

thanks for the recipe! I typically mix all the veggies together with seasoning (whatever I have on hand), then saute on high heat for a few minutes, to get them cooked but still crunchy(I love crunch). This method was good. However, realizing now after reading your "method", that I was introducing too much water at once(water from cooking the veggies). So tonight I will seperate the onion, bell pepper, and cook them. I too love shrimp and keep some in the freezer. Thanks a ton for your recipe!