Shrimp Salsa Verde with Fresh Garlic & Vegetables

“Shrimp Salsa Verde” is an easy shrimp entrée which takes advantage of convenience foods to speed up the preparation process. By adding a jar of salsa verde to a typical Louisiana sautéed shrimp recipe, the dish takes on an entirely new flavor profile and the result is a flavorful shrimp entrée with a Mexican flair. I used fresh jumbo shrimp in this recipe and added in a few other fresh vegetables along with lots of garlic. I served the dish with rice for a complete dinner. The colorful entrée is delicious. Plus, it is quite healthy as I eliminated all the butter found in traditional Cajun recipes and added in fresh vegetables.

Traditional Louisiana Sautéed Shrimp Recipes

Traditional Louisiana sautéed shrimp recipes often use several sticks of butter, lots of garlic, Creole seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and perhaps white wine. The food is delicious. However, it falls down when considering healthy recipes. Yes, Louisiana has a reputation for excellent cuisine, but reading the fine print often shows another story. Traditional Cajun cuisine is often very high in fat and cholesterol.

I’ve tried to reinvent some of these dishes on this blog with a slightly lower fat rendition. Here’s an example. For this recipe, I omitted the butter entirely and used just a bit of olive oil for sautéing the vegetables and shrimp. The shrimp and sauce add enough flavor to the dish that you don’t miss the butter at all.

“Secret” Ingredient, Introducing the Tomatillo

The “secret” ingredient in this recipe is a jar of salsa verde. Salsa verde means “green sauce” and this one is made with tomatillos, chiles and other ingredients such as cilantro. A tomatillo is a small, green fruit with a papery crust native to Central America. The fruit is firm, tart and citrusy and perhaps a little sticky. The fruit reminds a person of a green tomato but tomatillos actually belong to the nightshade family — and they are not related to tomatoes at all. It is easy to make your own salsa verde at home. However, tomatillos aren’t always available in grocery stores. In this case, it is very handy to have a jar of prepared salsa verde sauce for the recipe. I actually tried growing tomatillos in my backyard garden. They grew well, but I had only a very small crop and the fruit were ridden with bugs. Much easier to purchase fresh tomatillos than to grow them yourself. Even easier to purchase a jar/bottle/can of prepared salsa verde.

In recent years, the brands and varieties of salsa verde have increased greatly in grocery stores. It is difficult to select one brand. I don’t have a favorite, just happened upon Goya salsa verde today. The cuisine — and cultures — of Mexico and Central America have flourished over the past decade in our part of the country. This has opened up many new opportunities to expand our tastes and food experiences.

Here are the ingredients (according to AI — which actually put in tomatoes rather than tomatillos!). Goya Salsa Verde ingredients are tomatillos, water, jalapeño peppers, onion, coriander (which is dried cilantro), salt, modified cornstarch, Xanthan gum, citric acid and ascorbic acid (which is a preservative).

Salsa verde can be purchased in varying degrees of heat. I used a “medium” hot sauce for this recipe. Don’t need to overpower the shrimp and garlic with too many hot peppers.

Here are the ingredients for my recipe. I used fresh, unpeeled jumbo shrimp and peeled them myself. This is one pound of 20 – 25 count shrimp. So, the recipe should serve four folks giving each about six shrimp each. I also added in red bell pepper strips, broccoli florets and lots of garlic! White wine and a little olive oil round out the ingredients. (In the final recipe, I omitted the lemon.)

Making the Recipe

To make the recipe, get all the vegetables prepped first. I par-boiled the broccoli in the microwave for just a few minutes. I cut the red pepper into strips and minced about 5 fresh garlic cloves. Yes, there is alot of garlic in this recipe.

Next, get the shrimp ready. I purchased shrimp fresh from the grocery store, so no defrosting was needed. (I am sure they were originally frozen.) I peeled the shrimp but left the tails on — traditional Louisiana style. These are jumbo shrimp, and the center vein should be removed. (It can be gritty). I used a small knife to cut a ridge down the back of the shrimp to locate the vein and then gently pulled it out. (The deveined shrimp are shown in the right photo.)

To prepare the dish, I sautéed the red pepper strips in olive oil on medium heat. Then I added the garlic for just a few minutes. Next, I added the shrimp and let them cook for a few minutes on each side until they turned pink. Shrimp don’t take long to cook — even the jumbo shrimp. I added the white wine and deglazed the skillet. Finally, I added the broccoli florets followed by the jar of salsa verde and cooked until heated through.

That’s it! The dish is ready to serve. Serve with rice or corn tortilla chips.This turned out to be a very easy recipe to prepare; it is a “one skillet” meal.

This variation on a traditional Cajun recipe shows that Louisiana shrimp can be just as delicious as those iconic recipes which are loaded with butter; just alot more healthy. Adding in broccoli and red bell pepper strips adds to the nutritional value. Adding the salsa verde gave a twist on the cuisine of Mexico and Central America. Quite different, a new taste for our palate.

Enjoy!