Shrimp Tacos Spiced with Toasted Guajillo Peppers
The Guajillo (wha-hee-oh) chile is the most common dried chile in Mexico after the Ancho. The flavor of the Guajillo is distinct, slightly fruity with a strong piney, berry under taste. Guajillo flavors dished easily so a little goes a long way. This chile is between a 2-4 on the heat scale of 1-10. Guajillo, combined with the Passilla and Ancho, form the holy trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces.
Yields 4 Servings
Ingredients
Taco Ingredients:
- 1 lb. raw-shelled shrimp
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 dried guajillo chiles
- fine sea salt to taste, I used about ½ tsp.
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil of choice
- corn tortillas
Jalapeño and Pineapple Salsa Ingredients:
- about 1 cup full of fresh diced pineapple
- 2-3 fresh or raw jalapeños, finely chopped (for milder salsa remove seeds and discard)
- juice from half a lime
- handful of chopped cilantro leaves and a bit of the upper stems
- fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
Salsa Instructions:
- In a large bowl gently mix all of the salsa ingredients together until well combined. Taste and adjust if necessary, place in refrigerator until ready to use. The salsa will keep for a few days in the refrigerator.
Taco Instructions:
- Clean the shrimp and set aside. Over medium heat, warm comal or griddle or frying pan, once hot place the dried guajillo peppers and peeled garlic on to it. Gently keep turning the peppers until they have darkened or toasted on all sides — be careful not to burn them. The garlic too should be cooked until it begins to char on all sides. Place the toasted peppers and charred garlic cloves aside to cool.
- You’ll want to put on a pair of latex or kitchen gloves for this next step. Once the chiles have cooled enough to handle, remove the stem and cut each of them in half. Gently pull away the vein and remove the seeds, discard them. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the peppers into strips, some areas may crumble and that’s okay. Next mince the garlic and heat the olive oil, once warm sauté the garlic and chile strips for about 2 minutes then add the shrimp and sprinkle in the salt. Cook until the shrimp have turned pink and are firm.
- Right before serving remove the salsa from the refrigerator and warm up the tortillas. Place some shrimps on each tortilla and top with, or serve the salsa on the side.