Do you ever find yourself getting in flavor ruts?
For the past few years, I feel like 90% of the stuff I’ve cooked at home tends to fall in the Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, American, Vietnamese or Thai sort of categories. And while those are all my faves and are so dang delicious, I’ve been craving some new ethnic flavor profiles lately. I tend to gravitate toward food that’s on the fresh and healthier side and features nice bold flavors, but doesn’t require tons of unusual spices or such that I’ll use once and then never again. Stuff that’s easy to adapt for different diets, especially if I’m having friends over with different health needs. And stuff that’s — well, you know me — quick an easy to prepare. ;)
Well, I feel like I’m going to be on this little flavor mission for awhile. So if you have any recommendations, I wanna hear ’em!
But in addition to this yummy green Guatemalan pepitas sauce that I shared on the blog last week, one of my other favorite discoveries of the month is this ultra-simple and ultra-flavorful Peruvian seasoning mix that I used to make a red sauce for shrimp. This whole dish can be ready to go in less than 15 minutes, it’s made with spices that you probably already have in your pantry, it’s naturally gluten-free, and it is full of big, bold flavors that I think you are positively going to love.
Peruvian food, for the win!
Oh, and it’s also super vibrant and colorful, which always makes me happy. Love me a colorful plate of food. :)
To make this dish, simply round up a pound or so of shrimp. (Or you could also make this sauce and serve it with chicken or pork, or even just veggies.) Sauté them up with some garlic until they’re cooked through.
Then, while the shrimp are cooking (or beforehand), whip up a simple sauce made with white wine (or you can sub in chicken or veggie stock, if you don’t like to cook with wine), lemon or lime juice, lots of smoked paprika and cumin, salt, and pepper. Remove the shrimp and garlic from the pan once they have cooked, then let the sauce take a turn to cook and simmer down in the pan for a few minutes. Then combine everything, sprinkle it with lots of fresh cilantro…
…and dish it up! I served atop a bed of rice, along with a side of beans, but go with whatever sounds good to you. Just get ready for a big pop of flavor, because that Peruvian sauce is absolutely delicious. It’s smoky, it’s tangy, it’s a little bit spicy, and it’s herby. But don’t worry — all of those flavors come together perfectly, and the result is one amazing dish that I couldn’t stop making this month. Seriously, three meals in, I’m still not tired of it. :)
So cheers to exploring new flavors this season! Here’s to hopefully many more to come!
Easy Peruvian Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken or vegetable stock)
- 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound jumbo raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on or off!)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for topping
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, add the white wine (or chicken or veggie stock), lime juice, cumin, paprika, salt, and black pepper, and whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through and pink (and no longer gray). Transfer the shrimp and garlic to a separate plate, and set aside.
- Return the sauté pan to the stove over medium-high heat. Add in the white wine sauce, and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. (If you want a thicker sauce, you can let it boil down for an extra 2-3 minutes more.) Carefully add in the shrimp, and stir until they are evenly coated with the sauce.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately, garnished with fresh cilantro.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This looks fantastic, and I love how simple it is. To add in a few veggies for extra crunch and for a full balanced meal, what would you suggest? Have you tried any that didn’t work out so well? I’m thinking of trying some bell pepper, mushrooms, and zucchini.
Thanks, Julia! If you wanted to add some extra veggies, we think the three you mentioned would be great in this!
Every week we try to make dinner from a different country & then learn about that country during dinner. Originally we started this tradition to help my kids learn more about world geography, but it has been a great way to explore different flavors & dishes that we would have never tried (or heard of) otherwise.
That’s such a fun tradition, we really love that! Thanks for sharing with us, Taylor!
Love that pretty red shrimp!
Okay – cannot wait to make this. My family consistently ends up falling into the flavor rut. I love when a different combination of the same ingredients/spices comes up with a completely different effect. Thanks for the tips here!
Thanks, Rachel — we hope you and your family love it as much as we do! :)
Ooh, this looks so good! There’s a Peruvian restaurant near me that serves chicken with green sauce, and the sauce is freaking amazing. I want to say it has cilantro, jalapenos, and maybe some mayo? It’s kind of a chimichurri/aioli hybrid and it’s so good!!
Thanks, Tara — we hope you enjoy it! And that chimichurri/aioli hybrid sounds fantastic! :)
This is one I’m going to have to try, probably with chicken or port. A couple of years ago we went to an incredible market in Callao, Peru (the port city for Lima) that was utterly amazing. The fish part of the market was really clean, and the produce was the most gorgeous I think I’ve ever seen. So may varieties of corn and potatoes, huge squash, huge cabbages… We went to the market as part of a cooking class, and the food we had was just wonderful. I bought a big Peru cookbook, which I’ll probably never be able to use because so many of the ingredients can’t be found outside Peru. So I’m game for any Peruvian recipes you post using easily accessible ingredients.
Thanks for sharing with us, Susan — that trip sounds magical! :D
Looks equally good with chicken instead of shrimp.
Yes, we agree, this would be awesome with chicken! :)
Looks great, looking forward to cooking it! I’m thinking that sauce would also work nicely with cod or other white fish that has some body, and of course chicken thighs. Since you’re looking for new flavor profiles, consider Turkish cuisine. Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten was in Turkey, and it’s somewhat different than what you’ve been working with.
Thanks, we hope you enjoy! And ooooh, we need to try more Turkish food — thank you!
I love playing around with new flavors! Have you tried much El Salvadoran food? We’ve been obsessed with it lately! :)
Very cool, we hope you enjoy this! :)
This is making my mouth water. Looks so delicious!
Thanks, Sara — we hope you can give it a try sometime soon! :)