ANCHO-CHILE SHRIMP QUESADILLAS

ANCHO-CHILE SHRIMP QUESADILLAS image

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

For the shrimp:
1 dried ancho chile, stems and seeds removed
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of cayenne
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Salt to taste
1 pound of large uncooked shrimp (31-35 count), heads removed, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For the quesadillas:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 six-inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup shredded Muenster cheese (4 ounces)
2 jalapeño chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 cooked pieces of bacon, crumbled (optional)
Salsa for serving

Steps:

In a dry skillet heated on high, toast the ancho chile for about 10 seconds or just until it starts to puff. Fill the skillet with enough water to cover chiles. Leave the heat on until water begins to boil and then turn off the heat and let the chile soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the chile, and place into a blender. Add to the blender the orange juice, the lime juice, olive oil, the ground cumin, ground allspice, cayenne and garlic. Blend until smooth. Add salt to taste. Pour the ancho-chile and orange marinade into a nonreactive container, and add the shrimp. Toss to coat and then store in the refrigerator for 2-8 hours. To cook shrimp, melt the butter on medium-low heat in a large skillet, and add the shrimp, cooking for a couple of minutes on each side or until pink. (You may have to do this in batches.) Roughly chop the cooked shrimp and toss with some of the pan sauce, if you like. To make the quesadillas, in a clean skillet heated to medium, melt another tablespoon of butter. Add a tortilla and cook it on one side until it puffs (about 30 seconds). Flip the tortilla over and sprinkle over entire surface 1/4 cup of the Monterrey Jack, 1/4 cup of the muenster, 1/4 of the chopped shrimp, 1/4 of the chopped jalapeños, 1/4 of the bacon, if you're using it, and a tablespoon of chopped cilantro. Top with another tortilla, and after cheese has melted and the two tortillas stick together, flip the quesadilla and cook for a couple of minutes more. Repeat procedure for the remainder of the filling and tortillas. Cut into slices and serve warm with salsa.