Recipes from Chef Rick Bayless

Rick Bayless is chef of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, creator of Frontera gourmet foods, cookbook author and host of Mexico - One Plate at a Time.

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Shrimp in Red Escabeche

Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer

Recipe from Salsas That Cook

If you like the lusty earthiness of barbecued shrimp, this is the dish for you. Tangy, sweet and spicy shrimp with plenty of red chile, red onion slivers and cilantro leaves to remind you that you're on Mexican terrain. Though this dish is often served warm in its homeland in Northeastern Mexico, it's good cool - as we've described here - to pass around as a kind of messy finger-food nibble before a special dinner. If the weather's hot, serve Shrimp in Red Escabeche with a leafy salad as the main attraction. Escabeche, by the way, describes many traditional tangy preparations in which vinegar is used to preserve the main ingredients.

Ingredients

1 bottle (16 ounces) Frontera Guajillo Salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey or more to taste
Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
1 pound medium-large (about 24) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Puree the salsa in a blender and press through a medium mesh strainer into a bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (I prefer a 12-inch non-stick skillet) over medium. Add the salsa and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced to the consistency of tomato paste (it should have reduced enough for the oil to have risen, leaving a sheen on the surface), 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar. Taste and season with honey and salt - it should taste slightly salty and have a hint of sweetness.

Stir the shrimp into the cooked salsa (there should be just enough to coat everything lightly) and return the pan to the medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp are just barely cooked through (cut open a shrimp to see that it has turned from translucent to opaque white), about 3 minutes.

Scoop onto a platter and let cool to room temperature. In a small strainer, rinse the sliced onion under cold water and shake until nearly dry. Sprinkle over the shrimp along with the cilantro leaves, and the dish is ready to serve.