Taste of Tucson: Simple shrimp enchiladas are an easy dinner fix

Back when I kept a huge pantry of home-canned items, I came to an enlightening realization.

After putting in the work to can all those fruits and vegetables, it was instinctive to want to save them for a special occasion. The preserves were a kind of savings account, and I was loathe to deplete it. The realization was that, rather than saving the fruits of my labor, I needed to “spend down” my pantry — completely counter-intuitive.

Food, even frozen or preserved food, doesn’t last forever. All of it has a shelf life, a “best by” date, and it requires vigilance to be sure you stay on top of the contents of your pantry and freezer.

That can be as simple as sticking a list of in/out items and dates on the freezer door and taking a weekly inventory of items in the pantry that should be used up soon.

So, every week before I plan grocery shopping, I take a few moments to do that inventory. Last week, I saw that the big bag of frozen shrimp was nearing the end of its best-quality time, and I needed to do something with them.

Usually, my go-to shrimp dish is simply shrimp baked in a shallow casserole dish with heavily seasoned butter — garlic, lemon juice, onion — and a bit of olive oil to keep the butter from burning. Herb additions vary, but often include oregano and thyme, or dill. One or another hot sauce is a perennial ingredient, too. This wants good bread to go alongside because that garlicky butter shouldn’t go to waste.

But I was in the mood to try something different last week, and these shrimp enchiladas were an easy solution. I had everything I needed except the big flour tortillas. With a big leafy salad, two enchiladas were plenty for me for supper. Leftovers were terrific for lunch the next day (pro tip: if you’re microwaving to reheat them, use 50% power for twice as long so the shrimp don’t get rubbery).

The ginger in these enchiladas is kind of a wild card. I learned long ago when I competed in chili competitions that ginger’s heat hits your palate differently from other heat sources, such as chiles or hot sauce. It provides an unidentifiable bump of heat that nothing else can contribute.

If you’re worried about the food safety aspect of marinating at room temperature, I can reassure you. The standard window for food safety is two hours at room temperature. If you opt to put the shrimp into the marinade while they’re still frozen, you can add an additional 30 minutes to the marinating time — by the time the shrimp have thawed, you’re still within the safety of the two-hour window.

I didn’t bother to add salt or pepper to the filling because I didn’t see the need for either. However, you do you — feel free to add one or both if that’s your preference.

And if you opt to bake these in a pie dish, you can do a kind of New Mexican style layered enchilada if you like. Make a layer of tortillas, then a layer of filling, then another layer of tortillas, and spread any remaining filling on top before garnishing with additional salsa and cheese before baking. It’s a presentation that’s a little showier. For more casual family dinners, though, traditional rolled enchiladas suit me best.

Setting aside the marinating time, these enchiladas went from prep to table in less than a half an hour. Economy, ease and speed tick all my boxes for a terrific dinner.

Shrimp enchiladas

Makes 2 servings, 2 enchiladas each

Go ahead and double this recipe exactly if that suits your needs. You can put still-frozen shrimp into the marinade, but add about 30 minutes additional marinating time if you do so.

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Ingredients

5 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ground ginger, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Juice of 1/2 medium lemon

16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, without tails

½ teaspoon hot sauce

4 (8-inch) flour tortillas

¾ cup shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend, plus additional for garnish before baking

2 cups salsa, your preference

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, combine 4 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, hot sauce and shrimp. Coat shrimp well with mixture and marinate 2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a shallow baking dish or 9-inch glass pie pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Fill the flour tortillas with marinated shrimp, cheeses and most of the salsa. Roll tortillas around the filling and place in the greased baking dish. Spread a thin layer of salsa on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle a little additional cheese on top.

Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Serve immediately.