Chipotle Lime Shrimp Quesadillas

This post is mostly a precursor to tomorrow’s, but it shouldn’t be. That is, this is one of those times that a dinner, made mostly from someone else’s recipe, rolled into the next night’s dinner, in an original creation — again owing to my courageous and creative husband! This post commemorates the first dinner, because without it, we wouldn’t have stumbled on the second one…. and really, on its own, this is a fantastic and yummy meal! We were just so excited about the results from the second one that this got a little overshadowed.

That, and the pictures kind of stink….

Alright already, before you all stop reading and just come back tomorrow, here’s the recipe for our Chipotle Lime Shrimp Quesadillas. The shrimp come from Ezra Pound Cake (again….. it’s a great site, what can I say?) and I barely changed the recipe (more lime juice, more adobo, de-tail shrimp, etc.). Some authentic mexican cheese and the extra liquid from the shrimp made the quesadilla version of these already yummy shrimp top-notch. We’re lucky to live in a hispanic neighborhood where such cheese is readily available. It’s one of the foods I loved most in Mexico City!

Come back tomorrow to see incarnation #2 of these great shrimp!

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Quesadillas — serves 2, with leftover shrimp for the next day

Chipotle Lime Shrimp

from Ezra Pound Cake, who got it from Cooks Illustrated

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound 21/25 shrimp, peeled, deveined, de-tailed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (from two small, really juicy limes)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

To make the glaze: Stir together chipotle chile, adobo sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and cilantro in small bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking, Meanwhile, toss shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar in medium bowl. Add half of shrimp to the pan in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds. Transfer shrimp to large plate. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and shrimp; after second batch has stood off heat, return first batch to skillet, add chipotle mixture, and toss to combine. Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. You’ll have some liquid left — this is the good stuff, don’t drain!

Quesadillas

• 1/2 pound (1/2 recipe) chipotle lime shrimp with reserved liquid, above
• 2-3 cups shredded mexican cheese (queso chihuahua or oaxaca are my favorites… manchego is also nice, and let’s be honest, monterey jack is just fine too)
• 10 small corn tortillas

Heat two tortillas at a time (or however many fit in your pan) in a dry skillet over medium heat, both sides (heating the tortillas through before adding cheese is a must! no more chewy tortillas!). Add a small handful of cheese to one half of each side, toss on three or four shrimp, a spoonful of lime-chipotle liquid goodness, and a little more cheese. Fold, flip, and heat until cheese is melted and gooey. Repeat until all quesadillas are made.

Enjoy!

Tagged as: dinner, latin, Shrimp