Southwestern Shrimp in a Lettuce Cup

Having a bag of large frozen shrimp in our freezer, we wanted to find a way to use them as we love shrimp.  We've grilled them, sauteed them, used them in pasta dishes, but not in a lettuce cup.  This recipe is very easy and if you don't like to devein shrimp I'm sure you could use already cooked ones.  This can turn out quite acidic so taste as you go when mixing the marinade and corn salsa to keep a balance.

Southwestern Shrimp in a Lettuce Cup

Adapted from this recipe

Marinade

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced red onion
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp Tequila
• 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 16 shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed

Corn relish

• 2 ears corn (or 1 cup canned or frozen and thawed)
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 1 Roma tomatoes, diced small
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 small green onion, chopped
• Dash of fresh Lime juice

Lettuce cups

• 2 heads of Butter Lettuce
• 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, chopped
• Quinoa (prepared as directed on box)

Combine marinade ingredients with 1/4 cup water. Add shrimp; refrigerate 2 hours. To make relish, cut corn kernels off cob. Lightly spray a sturdy skillet with cooking spray and heat over high heat.  Stir-fry corn until golden brown, moving it constantly. Pour corn into a bowl and add remaining relish ingredients; season with salt. Remove shrimp and reserve marinade. Lightly spray the same skillet with cooking spray and heat on high until very hot. Toss in a few shrimp at a time and cook until just opaque (2-4min per side, flipping once); remove shrimp. Pour marinade into pan, bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes; lower heat and simmer until thick.

Rinse each piece of lettuce.  Add a teaspoon of the quinoa and then the corn relish, place a few shrimp on top and drizzle on a teaspoon of the marinade sauce.  Sprinkle with cilantro and green onion.

In the true spirit of TwoCooksOneKitchen, this is a great two person recipe.  Preparing and cooking the shrimp and marinade is a good task for one while cooking the corn and making the relish is a good task for the other.  And guys, you might want to volunteer to do the shrimp deveining and prep.

Enjoy!

-Dan