Shrimp in Jícama Wraps

In case you haven't noticed, Mexican food is becoming more "haute cuisine."  It's come a long way from the tacos, burritos, totopos, and refried beans often found in typical Tex-Mex restaurants.  In fact, the complexity of authentic Mexican food, as it differs from region to region in Mexico, has always been an adventure to explore and vastly different from much of what passes as Mexican food in the United States.

A crop of young, dynamic Mexican chefs is taking Mexican cuisine to new heights, developing recipes that are on par with dishes found in the best restaurants in Spain, France, or Italy.  Take, for example, shrimp in jícama wraps, a menu item I recently came across in San Miguel de Allende. It's a perfect appetizer: light, elegant and perfect when paired with a good beer or white wine. You'll find the contrast of the crunchy, juicy, jícama to the cooked flavor of the shrimp and the tartness of the lime absolutely divine. For the pico de gallo, required here, you will need to access my recipe in La Madrina's Salsas. Some of the chopping can be done ahead of time, but not too far ahead, (only a day at the most) because the freshness of the ingredients is key.

I tried these wraps tonight on a certain guinea pig I know who crowed that this version of Mexican food is a little frou frou in his humble opinion. But he made short work of it all and I was hard pressed to make them at a good tempo to keep up. Anyway, as I reminded him they're just appetizers! 

Shrimp in Jícama wraps

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Recipe Type: Appetiser

Author: Gilda Valdez Carbonaro

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 20 medium sized shrimp, deveined with skins and tail removed


• juice of 3 or 4 limes


• pico de gallo (see this blog for pico de gallo sauce)


• extra cilantro for garnish


• jícama sliced paper thin for wraps


• sea salt


• toothpicks


• 1/2 cup flour to dust the shrimp


• 1/2 cup oil

Instructions

1. Rinse and dry the shrimp, devein and remove skin and tail.


2. Dry the shrimp with paper towels.


3. Dredge the shrimp lightly in the flour until it is all covered and sprinkle with salt.


4. Peel the jícama and slice in paper thin slices.


5. Prepare a pico de gallo as found in this blog and set aside.


6. Cook the shrimp in the heated oil in a heavy skillet, (the hot oil should not cover the shrimp.)


7. Turn it until it is cooked on all sides, about 15 minutes.


8. Place the shrimp on each slice of jicama, spoon onto it the pico de gallo, garnish with more cilantro, squeeze the lime on it, and add more salt if needed.


9. Roll the jícama and fasten with the toothpick.


10. Guests can make their own if you provide the ingredients on the side for them to wrap their own.

Notes

Another version of these is julienned or cubed mango and grated ginger, minced serrano pepper, lime juice and cilantro in place of the pico de gallo, wrapped with the shrimp in the jícama wraps.