Start Summer with My Shrimp Roll Recipe

Summer finally is just around the corner in the Bay Area after weeks of spring rain. With the Memorial Day weekend upon us too, many of you are probably busy planning picnics or BBQs. (My question to you is where is my invitation? LOL)

An easy, fast lunch perfect for a summer picnic is shrimp roll. Shrimp is always easy to find, and their meaty flesh makes the roll seem hearty. I spice up my recipe by creating a chipotle sauce to bind everything together and cooling it off with healthy slices of avocado.

Since I’m not a baker and I’m all about convenience, I just bought French rolls from Chinatown (I got them at the Vietnamese sandwich shop for just 25 cents each!). I suggest you do the same because a long holiday weekend shouldn’t be spent baking bread. Enjoy!

Copyright 2010 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Shrimp Chipotle Roll

Ingredients:
6 to 8 oz. of medium-sized shrimp
1 or 2 avocados
1 chipotle pepper (in can with adobo sauce)
2 T mayonnaise
1 T honey
1 t Champagne vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
1 T cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
Juice from half a lime
2 French rolls

Remove shell, tail and vein from the shrimp and then bring a pot of water to boil. Add some salt to the water and then add the shrimp, cooking for 3 to 5 minutes until opaque and cooked through. (Just pull a shrimp out and cut it in half to see if it’s cooked in the middle.) Drain the water and place shrimp in a bowl of ice cold water.

Prepare the sauce for the shrimp by pulsing one chipotle pepper with a bit of the adobo sauce from the can in a food processor into a puree. (If you like your food extra hot you can add another pepper.) You can also just finely chop the pepper into a pulp if it’s too small for your food processor.

Mix the chipotle pieces in a small bowl with the honey, mayonnaise, cilantro, Champagne vinegar and squeeze of lime juice. Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth. (If the sauce seems too wet, place in refrigerator for awhile.)

Drain shrimp from water and pat dry with a paper towel. Chop shrimp into small chunks (make it bite size per your preference) and then slowly add a bit of the chipotle sauce until you have the consistency you like. (You may not need to use all your sauce, so just add a little at a time.)

Assemble your roll by toasting your roll first, then slicing an avocado and laying the sliced pieces in the roll. Then spoon in some of your shrimp. Serve your shrimp roll with grilled corn on the cob.

Makes enough for two rolls.

Pair with a pale ale.

TIP: If you don’t want to deal with the avocado slices (which looks prettier but can make it more slippery to eat your roll), then chop them into small chunks like the shrimp and mix the avocado with the shrimp in the chipotle sauce. Going this route also means you don’t need to use a whole avocado for just one roll. You can use just one avocado for the two rolls. You can also dress up your roll with some little gem lettuce leaves.

CHIPOTLE IN A CAN: Just a reminder that this recipe calls for just one chipotle pepper, which you can find in a can in the Mexican aisle of your grocery store. It’s usually sold with adobo sauce and you can use a bit of the adobo sauce in the recipe. But don’t get confused and use the entire can. This recipe calls for one pepper from the can, not the whole can. (I’ve made that mistake before and it wasn’t pretty.) So what to do with the rest of the peppers from the can? I learn this trick from my fellow food blogger Foodhoe, who suggests that you place each pepper into a slot in your ice cube tray and then freeze them. When they’re frozen, place the pepper cubes into a plastic bag or container and then you can use each pepper for future recipes, as you need them.

More sandwiches and rolls:
Asian-style BBQ Pulled Pork Roll
Caprese-style Grilled Sandwich