Chipotle Shrimp Salad with Avocado Cream Dressing

I am and a San Diego native. Born and raised. Holla!

There are many reason why San Diego is considered America's Finest City, but to me its home. Its the beaches, the weather, the people and the food. It's no secret that being so close to the Mexican border, we have some of the most delicious authentic Mexican food in all the US. Some of my earliest memories eating at a restaurant attached to a tortilla factory a few miles from home. Coincidentally, I found out later in life that the parents of one of my friends growing up owned that restaurant and still do to this day. Oh my gosh, it is so good. Okay, so I may be drooling as I'm writing this... You know how you should never grocery shop while hungry? Well, you should also never write a food blog post when your hungry.

I digress....In any case, authentic Mexican food is a staple here and not only at the restaurants. Its important to me that when I'm making mexican food at home to have both quality ingredients and for it to taste authentic (like the tortilla factory). Lucky for me, I live in San Diego which means almost all our grocery stores have a "latin food" aisle. This picture is from my local Ralph's store. The last third of the aisle is solely dedicated to Latin foods making it even easier to get the good stuff.

One of my favorite Mexican dishes to make lately, not only incorporates the true flavors, has my own spin on a long time favorite.

Chipotle Shrimp Salad with Avocado Cream

Here's how I make it.

Ingredients:

Chipotle Shrimp

•  1 pound de-veined shrimp
• 4 La Morena chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 cloves galic
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Avocado Cream

• 1 ½ cup Mexican Cream
• 1 avocado
• ¼ cup green onion
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper for taste

Other:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 1 can of La Morena sliced green pickled jalapeno peppers to include on the salad (opional)
• 1 cup queso fresca (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking shrimp in the skillet

Directions:

1. Blend the chipotle peppers, garlic, honey, olive oil in the food processor till its smooth. Place shrimp into a gallon ziplock bag along with the blended chipotle mixture and let marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours.
2. In a heavy pan or cast iron skillet, heat approximately a tablespoon of olive oil on medium to high heat. Add shrimp to the pan and cook on each side for 2 minutes.
3. For the creamy avocado dressing, blend up avocado, green onion, lime, cumin, salt and pepper.
4. Chop romaine lettuce into bite size pieces and then assemble on each plate.
5. Add shrimp to the top of the lettuce along with pickled jalepeno and carrots. Add a few tablespoons of dressing to each salad along with ¼ cup of queso fresca.Viola, you have yourself the most delicious meal that will bring all the authentic tastes of Mexico to your house!

Thank you #CollectiveBias and #VivaLaMorena for the opportunity to share some flavors from where I grew up.