Aguachile Verde* Shrimp Salad (*Green Chile Water) (No Cook)

I made this recipe two times and then had go back to the original magazine photo to figure out that it wasn't a salad with dressing on top, but rather a salad that was immersed in a bowl of delicious "chili water" similar to, but a notch spicier than, ceviche. On the third try, I ended up with an amazing dish that is as close to professional cooking as I ever get.

I first heard of aguachile on Netflix's Iron Chef when Chef Gabriela Cámara won the challenge with her trademark recipe for Aguachile Verde. Then this month, Food and Wine featured an article on aguachile dishes by Mexican Chef Claudette Zapada. She encourages you to get creative with your own version of the dish that always includes some fom of salt, acid, heat and a little suger (like orange juice). 

Her recipe for "Citrus and Beet Aguachile" looked easy enough to make. Using it for a base, I looked to Chef Cámara’s recipe and added and subtracted ingredients along the way. The result is a wonderful no-cook dish that has, like Chef Zapada wrote, “flavors so exciting that they make me dance.” 

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons

How to Make Aguachile Verde Shrimp Salad:

Ingredients in the Salad:

Ingredients in the Aguachile ("chili water"):

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup store-bought beet juice (optional)

Fresh lime juice from 2 limes (about 1/3 cup)

1/4 cup rice vinegar

Zest of one orange, plus 1/3 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped (about 2 teaspoons)

1 small serrano chile, seeded if desired, and roughly chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

4 dried arbol chilies (or chiltepin or pequin if you can find them), seeded and crushed in a mortar and pestle

1 bunch cilantro 

1 medium shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Ingredients in the Salad:

1 head of butter lettuce, washed and patted dry

6 small radishes, thinly sliced (on a mandoline if possible)

2 small Persian cucumbers (about 5 oz) thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion or spring onion 

1 pound of medium cooked shrimp

Garnish: Cilantro sprigs, if desired

Directions for Making the Salad:

How to Make the Aguachile:

Ingredients in the Blender:
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1. In a blender, add the olive oil, beet juice, lime juice, rice vinegar, zest and juice of the orange, garlic cloves, serrano chile, arbol chilies, cilantro, shallot and salt. Process until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid. Cover the liquid and put in the fridge to cool for about 1 hour, or up to 12 hours. Discard the solids.

Putting It All Together:

1. Pour the aguachile liquid into a shallow large serving bowl or into shallow individual serving bowls (about 4). Add the lettuce on the bottom of the bowl(s) and arrange the radishes, cucumbers, onion, and shrimp around the top.  Add cilantro as a garnish, if desired.

Aguachile is best eaten within 24 hours. 

#paleo #aguachile #Mexican #shrimp #nocook #glutenfree #dairyfree #recipe #cilantro #chilies

For Other Delicious Shrimp Recipes, see links below:

Le Grand (Saffron) Aioli w/
Garlic Rosemary Shrimp,
Veggie & Egg Platter

David Chang's
Spicy Seasoned Salt Shrimp 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.