Main Course Recipe : Texas Gulf Shrimp

Texas Gulf Shrimp
over hominy cakes with heirloom tomato relish drizzled with prickly pear gastrique

Serves 8.

Ingredients :

16 each Jumbo shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Tequila, as needed
Kosher salt, as needed
Black pepper, freshly ground, as needed
In a sauté pan over medium high heat sear shrimp in oil & deglaze with tequila. Season to taste.

Heirloom Tomato Relish

Ingredients :

2 cups Heirloom cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Texas sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon serrano peppers, chopped
1 Tablespoon cilantro, sprigs
½ cup jicama, thinly sliced
½ cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

In a bowl add tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro & jicama, mix well. Add the lime juice. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.

Prickly Pear Gastrique

Ingredients :

3 Tablespoons prickly pear jelly
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons peanuts, chopped
¼ cup cane vinegar
2 teaspoon cracked pepper flakes

In a sauce pan add all ingredients and reduce until syrup consistency.

Black Beans

Ingredients :

½ pound black beans
2 each bacon
½ each onion, chopped
3 each garlic cloves
5 each epazote
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

In a sauce pot add all ingredients except for salt & pepper. Cook until beans are tender or about two hours. Pour off excess liquid, holding back one cup. While beans are still warm puree in Cuisinart, until chunky. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.

Hominy Arepas

Ingredients :

2 each large eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup yellow hominy
1 ½ Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup cornmeal
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Texas mozzarella cheese, grated
Vegetable oil, as needed

In a bowl combine, eggs, milk, hominy and butter mix well. In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Fold in mozzarella cheese. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil then add 2 ounces of mixture to the skillet. Let cook for approximately 1½ minutes on each side, until lightly browned. With a knife, slice hominy cakes open face.Spread 1 tablespoon of black bean puree on bottom half. Set aside.

Plate Assembly

On a platter arrange 8 hominy cakes top with 16 shrimp, 2 on each and place tomato relish beside shrimp, drizzle with prickly pear gastrique on top of shrimp.

Enjoy