This has no claim to being even close to authentically Mexican, but it does have some roots there, as does our family. Tachita was my Mexican aunt’s cook, famous for her memorably redolent stuffed cheese, and perhaps some day we will investigate this.
What you need: 1 large can of diced tomatoes (Whole Foods has the best and amazingly the cheapest); 1 small onion; 1 or 2 jalapeños; 2 cloves garlic; 1 1/2 cps. white rice (just the plain medium grain, nothing fancy); maybe some chicken broth or bouillon; 2 lbs. uncooked shrimp, peeled and washed; a lime or two; cilantro would be nice
What you do: first make the sauce - whirl the garlic, onion, jalapeño (1 without the seeds if you want to avoid hotness, and 2 with them if you want to scorch, or somewhere in between), and canned tomatoes (added in that order more or less) in a blender or food processor until pureed. Heat some olive oil in a wide pan on the stove, and when it’s hot, pour in the puree, and simmer in a lively way for about 10 minutes; add salt and pepper to taste and leave everything in the pan. Then make the rice - pour about 1/2 cup of that sauce into a saucepan and heat; add the rice and stir it around for a few minutes; add 3 cps. of water or stock (and some salt if you use water) and bring to a boil; turn the heat down and keep at a low simmer, covered, about 25 minutes until the rice is done; turn off the heat and fluff it up with a spoon; keep covered so it stays warm. The shrimp - in the wide saucepan where hopefully you still have the sauce, heat it up again until it boils, and throw in the shrimp; cook for about 5 minutes until they are all pink and just cooked through; squeeze a little lime juice on top and salt to taste. Throw some chopped cilantro on both the rice and the shrimp and serve together, optimally with some savory and soupy black beans and fresh corn tortillas. (Pittsburgh became truly civilized when Reyna Foods started making these available daily.) This serves 4.
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