Shrimp and Roasted Corn Salsa Arepas or Tostadas

I made this quick dish with arepas—a Colombian/Venezuelan cornbread-type patty similar to a pupusa or a Central American tortilla. Arepas can be eaten plain or with a stuffing or topping. You can make them, or buy them in neighborhoods with large South American populations, but this dish would also be very good as tostadas. At the end, instead of putting everything on an arepa, pan-fry some tortillas in an inch of oil until crispy and let them cool on a paper towel.

Ingredients (makes food for 4):

·         1 lb. shrimp

·         1 ear of corn ,or 1 16-oz can of corn

·         1 red onion

·         1 bunch of cilantro

·         Something for spice, preferably habanero-based hot sauce (do NOT fuck around with whole habanero peppers for this recipe). Cayenne powder will also do.

·         12 fl. oz. Greek yogurt

·         1 cucumber

·         3 limes

·         4-8 arepas (depending on size), or 8 small tortillas

·         2 Roma tomatoes

·         ½ lb. Queso Blanco/Queso Fresco (fresh Mexican/Central American cheese)—if you can’t find this, Monterey Jack will do in a pinch

There are three parts to the dish. The shrimp are obviously the main event, but there’s also a corn salsa to give the dish some spice and roast flavor and a tzatziki-esque yogurt sauce to lube it a little. Each of the pieces are made like so (preferably in this order):

Corn Salsa

•  Cook the corn. Either cook corn on the cob until partially blackened (roasted on the grill or in the oven) and cut off kernels, or drain and sauté canned corn until partially blackened.
• Chop and sauté tomatoes until well-cooked; when they start turning black, they are done.
• Combine two ingredients after letting cool enough to handle. Add the juice of a lime, ¼ to ½ bunch chopped cilantro, and about a third of a raw, medium-sized red onion.
• Add salt and hot sauce/cayenne powder. Not too much—you don’t want this dish to be overpowered with spice. But the corn salsa is the only spice in the dish, so it needs to have some kick.

Yogurt Sauce (food processor or blender needed)

• Roughly chop about 2/3 of a medium cucumber and half of the bunch of cilantro (I love cilantro, so scale back if you need).
• Put them in the food processor until the vegetables are a disgusting baby-food mush.
• Stir the blended vegetables into the yogurt until it’s noticeably green and it more like cilantro and cucumbers than tangy yogurt.
• Squeeze in the juice from 1 lime. Stir and set aside.

Shrimp

• Coat the shrimp with lime juice (1-2 limes) and black pepper about 15 minutes before cooking.
• Place the shrimp on a skewer and grill, or sauté over high heat in a pan, about 2-3 minutes per side. The shrimp are done when they turn orange and have some black marks on each side.
• Salt and pepper to taste

When everything is cooked (and the shrimp are still hot, and ideally the corn salsa is still warm), stuff or top the arepas. First spread the sauce on the base, almost like a pizza. Then add the corn salsa and top with the shrimp. Finally, top with the cheese. If you are stuffing the arepas, gently mix the ingredients before you fill the arepas. If you are making tostadas, fry them before you start cooking the shrimp so they are ready to go once they are cooked.

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