Take Your Taste buds on a trip to Mexico

RICHMOND, Va. - Culinary expert Gabrielle Tenney, from Savvy & Well, spices up the Virginia This Morning Kitchen kitchen with a popular mexican dish that brings a little heat and a little sweet! Gabrielle’s version of traditional Tacos Al Pastor uses grilled pineapple, spicy shrimp marinated in a fresh adobo sauce, and crisp lettuce wraps. It’s the perfect refreshing summer dish to make at your next cookout! For more information you can visit www.savvyandwell.com

·         2 pasilla or guajillo chilies, seeds and stems removed

·         1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock

·         2 teaspoons vegetable oil

·         1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

·         1 teaspoon dried ground cumin seed

·         1 tablespoon achiote powder or paste

·         1 chipotle chili packed in adobo sauce, plus 2 teaspoons sauce

·         1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

·         3 whole cloves garlic

·         2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

·         2 teaspoons sugar

·         ½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

·         6 Tortillas or 1 head romaine lettuce

·         Guacamole

·         1 avocado

·         ½ tomato, chopped

·         ¼ onion, chopped

·         2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, rough chopped

·         ½ lime, juiced

·         ¼ teaspoon salt.

·         Garnish

·         ¼ pineapple, grilled and chopped

·         ¼ head of cabbage, sliced fine

·         ½ red onion, sliced fine and tossed with the juice of half a lime.

Guacamole

1.      Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash up.

Al Pastor Marinade

·         1. Place chilies in a large saucepan over medium high heat and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock (it should boil immediately), then pour contents of pan into a small bowl. Cover loosely and set aside.  Wipe out saucepan, add oil, and return to medium-high heat until oil is shimmering. Add cumin, oregano, and achiote and cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic but not browned, about 30 seconds. Add chipotle chilies and sauce and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds longer. Add vinegar, salt, and sugar and remove from heat.

·         2. Scrape contents of saucepan into a blender along with garlic and chilies with their soaking liquid. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides as necessary. Set sauce aside to cool.

3. Marinate the shrimp for about 20 minutes. Maximum 1 hour, you want to be careful since the vinegar will “cook” the shrimp.

Garnish

1. For the pineapple component, just sear or grill some pineapple and dice it as a topping or, alternatively use some pureed pineapple as a component of your finishing salsa. I’ve found that marinating in pineapple really screws with the texture of your product...enzymes and so forth. Best to add the pineapple after the fact like the taco vendors in Mexico.

To assemble