Every week on LittleThings’ Facebook Live show Slice we challenge food experts to create delicious and easy to make dinners for less than $12. This week, we have enlisted the help of Chef Ricky Camacho, who heads up operations at Añejo restaurant, which serves Mexican food good enough to warrant not one, but two separate New York City locations.
Chef Ricky has had a long career starting as a line cook, and then working his way all the way up to being the Director of Culinary Operations, Corporate Chef and Parter at Añejo.
Of course, a restaurant fancy enough to have two New York City locations is bound to have a menu expensive enough to match. And while our $12 challenge would barely get a restaurant patron past the guacamole course, Chef Ricky is here to show us how to prepare a traditional latin meal, shrimp in pipian verde, also known as pumpkin seed sauce, with asparagus, zoodles (zucchini noodles) and spring onions (and don't worry, you don't need to be a cooking expert to pull this one off).
Other than it being totally delicious, this dish is especially appealing to us because we can make it for less than $12, and in under 2o minutes, which is sometimes all we can spare.
Also, let's not forget that the noodles made from zucchini make this meal legitimately healthy and low in carbs, that way you can enjoy it all the more without having to worry about your waistline.
Shopping list:
- Pumpkin seeds – .50
- White onions – .99
- Jalapeno – .50
- Shrimp – $7.99
- Zucchini – .89
- Asparagus – $1.10
Enjoy the recipe below and don’t forget to SHARE with your friends on Facebook!
Shrimp in Pipian Verde (Pumpkin Seed Sauce) With Asparagus, "Zoodles," and Spring Onions
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- Pumpkin seeds, deep toast in 2 tbsp oil
- White onions, diced
- Cumin
- Oregano
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno
- Garlic, minced
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Water
- Shrimp, deveined
- Zucchini
- Asparagus, cut into 3
- Salt and pepper
- Lime
Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a wide skillet over high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and sear for about 1.5 minutes per side, or until opaque in the center. Save for later.
- Add olive oil to the heavy bottom skillet with cumin oregano and pumpkin seeds.
- Once aromatic, add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with water and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering add the cilantro and jalapeño then blend. Once blended, pour pipian sauce onto dish for serving later.
- Cut the blossom end of the zucchini off using a "vegetable noodler" and follow the device instructions to make zucchini noodles.
- In a skillet over high heat add olive oil and minced garlic. Quickly toss to prevent from browning.
- Add zucchini and toss until its slightly more tender.
- Remove the "zoodles" and place on the dish with the pipian sauce. Then arrange the shrimp along with the zoodles.
- Follow by adding asparagus, spring onion and lime as garnish, season with salt and enjoy!
