RECIPES

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Wine & Food

Rock Salt Shrimp with Ancho Beurre Blanc and Tomato Tequila Salsa

by Kevin McCarthy & Eve Montella

To serve as a main course, double the number of shrimp and accompany with seasoned rice or mashed potatoes to soak up the wonderful sauce.

Serves 4 as first course

Ingredients:

• 16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, leaving tail on (save the shells)
• Shrimp stock (recipe follows)
• Ancho Beurre Blanc (recipe follows)
• Tomato Tequila Salsa (recipe follows)
• 1 box rock salt

Hold the cleaned shrimp in a stainless steel bowl until ready to bake.

Shrimp Stock:

• Reserved shrimp shells
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 5 to 6 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine

Heat butter in a large sauté pan, then add the shallots, garlic and the reserved shrimp shells. Sauté until the shallots and garlic are soft and the shells are pink. Transfer to a large saucepan. Set the sauté pan aside for further use--don't wash it. Cover the shells with the wine and water, set over medium high heat and simmer until the mixture reduces to about 1 cup. Strain and set aside.

Ancho Beurre Blanc:

• 6 ancho chiles, toasted and reconstituted in warm water, then cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
• 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup reserved shrimp stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup Sauternes (Muscat de Frontignan, Beaumes de Venise, Barsac or other similar dessert wine may be substituted)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• ounce cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Sauté shallots, mushrooms, chives and ancho strips until soft and glazed. Add stock, white wine and Sauternes and reduce to about half the volume. Add lime juice and cream. Reduce again to half the volume. Strain this mixture and press well to extract all the liquid. Return strained sauce to pan and reheat to a simmer. Reduce until sauce is slightly thicker, then begin to whisk in the butter one piece at a time. Add butter until the sauce is sufficiently enriched to your taste. Season with salt and pepper. Hold the sauce in a warm place near the oven or stove, but not on direct heat.

Tomato Tequila Salsa:

• 2 medium sized ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced medium
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 3 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 ounce gold tequila

Combine all salsa ingredients except tequila in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning. Reheat the sauté pan previously used for the shrimp shells. When the pan is hot, add the tequila and reduce until all the alcohol has burned off and the liquid is almost a glaze. Quickly add the tomato salsa, stir and remove from heat. Re taste the salsa for seasoning. Set aside in a warm place until you are ready to plate the shrimp.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Fill a metal baking pan with rock salt to a depth of about an inch. Place the pan in the oven to heat while you prepare the sauces.

Lightly coat the shrimp in olive oil. Remove the pan of rock salt from oven (the salt should be sizzling hot). Place shrimp directly on hot rock salt and put the pan back in the oven. The shrimp will cook extremely fast with this method. Be prepared to turn the shrimp with tongs in about 2 minutes; shrimp should cook in 5 minutes or less. Serve immediately with the ancho beurre blanc and tomato salsa for garnish.
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Kevin McCarthy & Eve Montella

Armadillo Cafe in Davie, FL
Kevin McCarthy and Eve Montella are co-owners and co-chefs at the Armadillo Café in south Florida.

Kevin is a 1975 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of ten years with the Gilbert/Robinson Restaurant Company. His job with Gilbert/Robinson involved traveling around the United States opening specialty restaurants. It was during a stint in Dallas that his love for that region's food blossomed. Moving to Miami in 1986, Kevin was the chef at Max's Place before opening the Armadillo Café in 1988.

Eve Montella graduated from the Restaurant School at Florida International University in 1979. Her interest in cooking had been nurtured in her mother's kitchen from early childhood. Eve directed a cooking school and had her own catering company prior to joining forces with Kevin to open the Armadillo Café.

Armadillo Café is a mélange of the culinary influences of south Florida and the American Southwest. Current favorite ingredients include chipotle chiles, sun-dried tomatoes, gold tequila, Hayden mangoes, yellow beefsteak tomatoes, Texas antelope, portobello mushrooms and all of the great Florida seafood.

Among the awards the pair has earned are top ratings in the GaultMillau and Zagat guides, and the Miami Herald. The restaurant was named Tasters Guild Restaurant of the Year in 1992 and was given the Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995.
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