Shrimp in Black Pepper Sauce (Camarones a la pimienta)
One of the standard Veracruzan treatments for any kind of seafood is a la pimienta — briefly pan-cooked with onion, garlic, fresh green chiles, and a hefty dose of black pepper. With a few little adjustments in timing the same general formula works equally well for crabmeat, shucked oysters and scallops, squid cut into bite-size pieces, or virtually any seafood variety I can think of. Use this recipe as a general model for all kinds of raw seafood. The octopus version given below is a good pattern for anything a la pimienta made with pre-cooked seafood. For one pound of seafood you should always use roughly the same amounts of oil and other seasonings.I like about 1 teaspoon of salt in the dish, but it is surprisingly good without. Do not scorn the finishing touch of mayonnaise, which I at first thought was unnecessary. It really does mellow and round out the dish. In Veracruz, people also like to add a generous slug of Maggi sauce. This I usually omit.I prefer to use peeled shrimp because they absorb the pepper better, but shrimp in the shell are also very good.From Zarela's Veracruz (Houghton Mifflin 2001).
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 large white onion finely sliced or chopped
- 3 cloves garlic slivered
- 3-4 jalapeño or serrano chiles seeded if desired, sliced or julienned
- 1 pound shrimp any preferred size, peeled and deveined or in the shell
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt optional
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil to rippling over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and a little wilted but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add the chiles and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes, or until softened.
- Add the shrimp, optional salt, and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes, or until they are just done through. Swirl in the optional mayonnaise and serve at once.
- It makes a great and very quick meal with fried plantains and cooked white rice.
Notes
Variation:
For Pulpos a la pimienta, cook and peel 3-3½ pounds octopus (cleaned weight) and cut into 1-inch pieces. You should have about 1 pound, or 2 cups, cooked octopus meat. Follow the directions above, adding the octopus to the pan with the pepper and salt and cooking it to heat through, about 2 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 419kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 24gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 289mgSodium: 1510mgPotassium: 175mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 56IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 183mgIron: 3mg
