Recipe: Camarones Enchilados – or as I say Enchilated Scrimps

Cuban cooking is extremely traditional – you either make it the way its SUPPOSED to be, or you have made it wrong! There is no fusion, innovation, no unexpected twists or surprising tastes – at least there shouldn’t be. Cuban food is NOT spicy – but IS full of flavor and delicious. Ironically, it is also one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted cooking cultures out there – this dish may serve as a perfect example as to why.

This classic Cuban dish, translates into "Shrimp in Enchilada Sauce". Funny thing is, enchilada sauce does not even exist in our cooking culture, and the sauce used in this recipe for decades has never been, and will never be anything even remotely enchilada – like. I’ve seen some Cuban restaurants translate the name of this dish into “Shrimp Creole” – certainly not Creole sauce either!! The sauce is a very tasty tomato based sauce that to me really embodies the taste you should expect from a number of Cuban staple dishes.

This is my husband’s specialty dish, and the recipe has been in his family for years. But chances are, any Cuban making this dish will be using the same recipe – not a whole lot of room for interpretation when it comes to Cuban cooking.

Like most Cuban dishes, this recipe starts with the sofrito (sautéed onions, garlic and peppers) – the heart and soul of all Cuban dishes. But the real star of this dish is the sauce – despite its misleading name.

Stay tuned for a Ropa Vieja recipe later this week – which literally translates to “Old Clothes”. I’m starting to see a pattern here. Hmm, and maybe a post to come on “Rabo Encendido” – Tail of an Ox on Fire – yummy!

Serves 4-6 - Serve over rice with plantains.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds of uncooked shrimp, de-veined, tails removed.
• 1 12 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 1 green pepper – finely chopped
• 1 medium sized white onion- finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves – finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons of EVOO
• Salt & pepper
• ½ cup White wine (Cubans tend to use Vino Seco, which is sold at Compare Foods (pronounced con-padey)
• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 caps of white vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Saute pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil until softened (about 10 minutes) – this is your sofrito.

2. Add white wine, stir and cook for 3 minutes on medium high heat, then add tomato sauce, vinegar and ketchup.

3. Season with salt & pepper

4. Simmer for 20-30 minutes (make sure liquid does not evaporate)

5. Salt & Pepper the shrimp in a bowl while this is cooking.

6. Add shrimp - stir and cook for five minutes on medium heat covered.

~Elena