Friday 6 September 2019

Shrimp Enchiladas

A dear friend of mine hates cilantro. 

And I’ve read all kinds of articles about people who hate cilantro and that there’s an actual chemical in the brain that makes them hate it or some such thing.  And there are always memes and jokes that go around about people who hate cilantro.

When I had my friend over for dinner and we were having tacos and I found out she HATES cilantro I felt simply awful because half of the dishes I made for dinner had cilantro in them!!!!

One of my favorite smells in the whole wide world is lime juice and cilantro.  I wanna bottle that and wear it like perfurme.

So it’s HARD for me to make something like enchiladas and not have cilantro in them.

I wish I could tell you that one of the dishes I made for my friend were these enchiladas, but – sadly – it would not be true.

Ages later, I pulled this recipe out of the stash and set about making it.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure about how it would turn out.  There’s really not anything remotely “enchilada-like” about it.  No cilantro, no chipotle, no jalapeno, no lime juice.  Nothing.

Yeah.  I’m not sure what I was thinking either.


Start by melting some butter in a pan and cooking the shrimp until they are pink.  Remove the shrimp from the pan and allow to cool.


Melt some more butter and toss in the onion.


And red bell pepper.

Cook the onion and bell pepper until softened and add the spices to the pan.


Stir in the flour.


Add the heavy cream and stir together.  


Cook until thickened and stir in the sour cream,


Cheese,


And the tomatoes.


Stir in the shrimp.  Don’t be like me.  Make sure you cut up your shrimp BEFORE adding it back to the pan.  It’s much easier to do then after its all coated in sauce.  


Spread 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture down the middle of a tortilla, add some cheese and roll it up really tightly. 

Here’s where I got a little nervous.  I personally like saucy enchiladas.  Usually you have sauce to pour over the top of the enchiladas and they bake in that sauce and they’re all cozy and creamy and wonderful.

But there was none of that with this recipe.  I kept my fingers crossed and chucked them in the oven.

I REALLY expected these to be underwhelming.  I was really prepared for the tops to be all cardboardy and dry.  And bland.  And etc etc.



What surprised me was how creamy and delicious they turned out!  Not a traditional enchilada in any sense, but really delicious!  Everyone at the table enjoyed them – I even got asked for them again! 

There is really nothing I would do differently here.  They just… “work”.  Easy delicious and perfect for people who hate cilantro.  So now you know what to serve on Taco Night for that one friend who hates cilantro!


Shrimp Enchiladas

3 Tablespoons butter
1 pound medium-size raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
6 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
6 ounces shredded cheese (like Monterey Jack)
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 - 10 (8-inch) flour tortillas

  1. In a large frying pan, melt 1 Tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat.  Add the shrimp to the pan in an even layer and let cook without moving, about 1 minute.  Flip the shrimp over and cook for another 30 - 60 seconds until just pink and opaque.  Remove the shrimp to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.  When the shrimp is cool enough to handle, cut into pieces.
  2. Melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter in the frying pan.  Add the diced bell pepper and onion and cook until tender - about 5 - 7 minutes.  Add the oregano, salt, garlic powder, cayenne, and flour to the pan.  Stir well and cook briefly until fragrant, about 30 - 60 seconds.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream to the pan.  Stir to scrape any of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook until just slightly thickened, should take about 1- 2 minutes.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the sour cream, 3 ounces of the shredded cheese, and the tomatoes.  Stir in the shrimp and mix together until the sauce is well blended and the cheese is melted.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.  Scoop 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture and place down the center of the tortilla.  Sprinkle with some of the reserved cheese.  Roll up the tortilla tightly and place, seam-side down, in the baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining filling, tortillas, and cheese.  Spray the tops of the assembled tortillas lightly with cooking spray.  Bake uncovered for about 30 - 35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Source:  Everyday Annie

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