I made my normal three dishes (I had meant to do four but ran out of time, you know how it is) this Wednesday night and plan to post recipes for all of them on the site. However, one of them was a much bigger success than the others, so I wanted to add it as soon as possible.
After watching King Corn I wanted to share the documentary with others, so rather than watching StarTrek or Bullshit! or 30 Days as we usually do on Wednesday we had planned to watch King Corn. For food I was inspired by the movie and made all dishes based on corn. First there was a red pepper and corn chowder served with sour cream, diced tomatoes, and corn chips. For the grand finale there was cornbread (an unusual recipe, but Doug was a fan).
But in the middle was one of the best recipes I have ever come up with. It was Roasted Corn and Shrimp Salad.
The idea for the salad came from a recipe that I saw in the July issue of Gourmet Magazine. I’m pretty sure it had the same name. But I lost my copy and couldn’t find the recipe online, so I had to create my own completely without guidance. I started with the shrimp and the corn. I chose large shrimp so that I wouldn’t have to shell and devien quit as many. I knew that I wanted to roast the corn, but since my grill is nonexistent I decided to place it directly onto the rack of my preheated oven.
Next I had to pick out flavors. Because it’s been so hot I wanted something that would be refreshing without being boring. I decided on a split between Carribean and Southwestern using both the cilantro and lime flavors that I associate with the Cuban cooking I grew up with and chipotle chilies in adobo sauce for a little more of a smoky, spicy flavor to go with the corn. I knew that I wanted some texture to the salad so I added red onion for a crunch and avocado for a creamy feel.
In the end it worked out beautifully. I added in some paprika for color and also for a more smoky flavor than my oven could produce in the corn. I also upped the amount of lime juice to increase the flavor and to keep the avocado from turning brown. The only problem I had was the bread I used to turn the salad into a sandwich. I used potato buns, but I felt like they took all the flavor away from the salad. In my recipe I recommend sourdough, but I’m worried that the texture might be too dense. If anyone has a better idea please let me know!
July 3, 2007 at 3:23 PM
Amy, I think that a simple baguette would do the salad nicely. Not the hard, dense baguettes one finds at the grocery store, but a truly light French baguette, lightly toasted perhaps. Served immediately, the baguettes would retain their softness, and the warmth would contrast nicely with the cool salad.
July 11, 2007 at 3:55 PM
Amy, the roasted corn and shrimp salad was one of my favorite things so far. How do you keep making such good stuff? It’s hard to keep track of which recipe is my favorite when you keep topping my list with something new. However, I will deal with it, because I am happy to have yummy food.
Thanks!!