Spicy Shrimp with Grilled Corn

Inspired by: Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
Paired with Benovia 2011 Rose of Pinot Noir.

Food Network

So I was watching Cooking Channel this morning and the host visited Brenda's Soul Food. The image of shrimp swimming in cream sauce on cheesy grits is burned on my brain. (and my tastebuds)

My Love Affair with Whole Foods
I headed to Whole Foods only knowing I wanted to grab some shrimp. They had a huge display of Hatch chilies. I've never worked with them, but the sign said they were "spicy," so I was in. It was interesting to me that a chili this large (5-ish inches) was so spicy. Rule of thumb is that the smaller the chili, the spicier it is.

It was then, only a matter of time until I ended up at the meat counter, discovering the wonders of their chicken sausages. I spotted the Andouille, and my plan was hatched.

This recipe is a lesson in efficiency, but is so delicious and worth it! I just bought everything today at Whole Foods, so it's in season in late August/early September.

What you'll need:

1/2 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined  (I used 25 count, but you could easily use any size you want)

1 Hatch Chili

1 Corn, on the cob

1 Chicken Andouille Sausage (raw) (I got mine from the meat counter)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Sweet Hungarian Style Paprika

1 Yellow Onion, diced

4 cloves of Garlic, diced

9 Campari Tomatos, chopped

1 cup Chicken Stock

10 Basil leaves

2 Lemons

The Shrimp

Salt the raw shrimp and dust them paprika. with Marinate the shrimp in a mixutre of: one diced garlic clove, the juice of a lemon, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 tsp Paprika and 1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice. I like to put them in a plastic bag so I can make sure all of the shrimp are coated. Put in the refrigerator for 20 min or so.

Take them out of the marinade and put directly on a medium-heat grill, for about 2 min on the first side and 1 min on the second side. It really depends on the size of the shrimp and the heat of the grill. They will be pink, curl up, and be relatively firm when they are done. But don't overcook. Better to err on the side of too rare--you can always heat them up in the sauce, if needed.

The Grilled Corn
Pull down the husk, remove the silk. Pull the husk back up, and throw it on a 300-ish degree bbq. You'll need to rotate it 90-degrees every 5 minutes. The outside will become very charred and a bit of the kernels too. (yum!)

Let it cool for a few minutes and cut the kernels off the cob. Set aside.


The Fire-Roasted Hatch Chili
Turn your BBQ up to high heat so you can get a good char on the chili. Cook it about 2 min each side. Closing the lid in between so it cooks more evenly, and so you don't melt.

When it's toasty brown (or even a little black) and the skin has started to bubble, take it off. I've always heard that an ice bath is a great way to get the skin off, but a friend of mine, Armando, runs a produce department suggested instead putting the piping hot peppers in a paper bag and folding it over to let the steam separate the skins.

The benefit of this method is that none of the oils are washed off. Brilliant!

Peel off the skins, dice the chili and set aside.


The Spicy Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Remove the chicken sausage from the casing and quickly work it apart, just like you would ground beef. The drippings are going to give the sauce a lot of flavor.

Remove the sausage from the pan and add the onion and garlic. Slightly lower the heat if things are sizzling -- we don't want to brown the onions, just start to soften them. 

Chop the Campari tomatoes, and add to the onion and garlic. Stir. The tomatoes will start to break down as they cook and are stirred.

Now is time to add the diced chili. You'll need to taste a small piece to judge that pepper's heat, and match it with how spicy you like your food. Mine was cuckoo-pants spicy so I only used about 2/3.

Add the chicken stock and let the sauce simmer for five minutes so the flavors meld into perfect harmony. Some of the tomato skins will be pulling away, not to worry.

Put everything in the blender for about 30 seconds. Add the corn and sausage and give it a quick stir. 

The Whole Sha-Bang

You can either serve the shrimp whole on top of the spicy corn and andouille sauce, or chop them up.

I opted for chopping. Mostly because I was a little lazy.

Squeeze a lemon wedge (1/4 of a lemon) on top, and sprinkle with basil chiffonade.