Chunky Shrimp Salsa with Fried Tortillas
Ingredients1 lb. large shrimp
1 large tomato
1 small sweet onion
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
2 limes
2 fresh garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Old Bay
1 ten-pack of flour tortillas
2 teaspoons Texas Pete or Tapitio hot sauce
2 cups canola oil
Preparation:
To start, I like to begin with boiling the shrimp with the shell on and with the Old Bay in the water. Bring your water to a boil, and then add the Old Bay and shrimp. Cook the shrimp for four minutes. Try not to overcook. Note: the water does not have to come back to a boil for the shrimp to be done.
Once the shrimp are cooked, chill immediately with cold water and then place them in the refrigerator. If you go ahead and put your onion in there also, there are fewer tears later. The chilling slows down the sulfur, keeping it from rising into your eyes.
While those ingredients are chillin’, you need to start choppin’. Dice the tomato and garlic, and then cut up the onion and shrimp. Add all together in a large bowl. Then chop the cilantro and add it to the bowl.
Now add the olive oil, and squeeze the limes into the bowl. Start mixing all these ingredients.
Finally add hot sauce and a dash of Old Bay. You may also want to add a little salt and pepper. Once this is done, put the bowl and all its ingredients back in fridge.
Tortillas:
Place your stack of tortillas on the cutting board. Then carefully with a chef knife cut the tortillas like a pizza (if the stack is too hard to cut, just do a smaller amount). You should end up with triangles.
Heat the canola oil in a deeper frying pan. Bring to around 350º or med-high heat, and then add the tortillas a few at a time. They generally take a few seconds to start cooking. They will float, so continue to dunk and stir being sure to look for the golden brown color.
Once the tortillas are done and a nice color, set them on a paper towel. They should be crunchy. You may want to add a little Old Bay and salt and pepper to season.
Now just serve the dish however you may choose.
Danny Hieronymus was born and raised in Wrightsville Beach into a commercial fishing family and has been catching fish throughout NC all his life. He has also been cooking with his mother since he was 8 years old in the family restaurant. He can be reached at capefearcookin@yahoo.com.
