Aji de Camarones

Peruvians excel in the preparation of ajies, dishes using their mirasol AKA hot yellow peppers. Of course, I couldn't get those at my local supermarket and substituted red pepper flakes as advised by the cookbook from which the recipe came: The South American Table. I took a few other liberties to make my life easier, such as using pre-cooked shrimp and substituting vegetable broth for making the shrimp broth. Some day I'll have to try this with the genuine ingredients and see how different it might be.

Aji de Camarones
Shrimp in Hot Pepper Sauce

1/2 pound cooked large shrimp
juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the shrimp in a large glass bowl. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinade in the refrigerator.

1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 TBSP olive oil
1/8 tsp sweet paprika
3 shallots, minceed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp ground cumin
2 TBSP milk
1/8 cup ground walnuts
1/2 cup vegetable broth
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the paprika, add the shrimp and cook about one minute. Transfer shrimp to a clean bowl. Add the chopped shallot and cook until softened. Add the minced garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin and cook for one minute. Add the milk, walnuts and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens (a little thicker thean whipping cream). Stir in Parmesan and shrimp until heated through. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and serve.

Notes: This turned out to be pretty interesting and tasty. A little scant for two servings. If I had added the garnishes recommended: potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and olives, that would no doubt have rounded it out. The other dish that I made from this cookbook - Pechugas de Pollo al Cilantro - turned out to be a favorite, though if one doesn't like cilantro, one shouldn't try it.

Paired with Aresti Reserve Merlot 1999 - a medium bodied wine with a (perhaps too) strong fruity finish and a peppery hint. From Chile (Rio Claro).

Posted by Jennifer at October 31, 2005 10:16 PM | TrackBack