We’ve been making a variation of this recipe for 15 or so years and it has evolved over time to fit our “health” needs. The original recipe called for a half a stick of butter and over the years we’ve split that into two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil. Now we’re down to one tablespoon of olive oil and it still tastes great.
We have always served it with a crusty loaf of bread to sop up all of the good tasty sauce (and to cool your mouth a bit as the chilies can be spicy). Just this week we adapted it to suit our wheat-free needs by serving it on a mound of homemade (gluten-free) polenta (instead of with bread). We both agreed that it was a great update as the sauce made the polenta more moist and flavorful.
This makes for an easy and very flavorful main course – just add a salad to it. To be creative with appetizers, think of serving this with toasted baguette slices. Or, as David of Cocoa & Lavender (a wonderful food blog) just recommended, try serving the shrimp in corn tortillas with some taco fixings (avocado and cilantro for example).
Wine Pairing: Ed picked out a great Washington state Syrah from Va Piano which paired nicely with the spicy shrimp.
| Shrimp with Adobo Sauce and Polenta | | Print |
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup dry red wine
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 to 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced, plus 2 to 3 teaspoons adobo sauce
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1-1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled
- 1 cup dried polenta, cooked according to the package
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Mix olive oil, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, chipotle chilies, adobo sauce, garlic and salt in a medium bowl.
- Toss shrimp with sauce and place in a large shallow baking dish.
- Bake in middle of oven until shrimp are just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Divide polenta between four plates and cover with shrimp and sauce.
* If you make less shrimp, still make the same amount of sauce as it's so good.
Nicole – the shrimp sound amazing! Another great way to serve them would be as tacos using soft corn tortillas – they would be amazing! Happy New Year!
David – Great suggestion about the corn tortilla tacos. I am going to update the recipe. Thank you and Happy New Year to you!
Thanks for the shout-out, Nicole! We are making these shrimp for dinner tomorrow! Can’t wait. We will do them as tacos in homemade toritillas with slivered cabbage, avocado and lime!
Can’t wait for your report! Love that you make your own tortillas. My mom lived in Mexico for many years and I loved the homemade tortillas.
They were amazing as tacos! I mixed some extra adobo with some Greek yogurt for a sauce, and added shredded cabbage and avocado to give different tastes and textures. A wedge of lime squeezed on top made them perfect!
I made this last night and it was yummy! Super easy too!
Embry – So glad you liked it! It reminded me that I need to make this recipe soon – it’s been too long!