Honey-Chipotle-Lime Shrimp

Shrimp is one of my favorite seafoods.  I just love it.  One of the things I love about shrimp is that it is so versatile.  Like with chicken, the possibilities for cooking shrimp are endless, as was so greatly expressed by Bubba in the movie Forrest Gump; I can’t remember the full speech that Bubba gave about shrimp, but he named so many delicious ways of eating and cooking shrimp that by the end of the scene my mouth was watering and suddenly I was really hungry for something with shrimp.  Well, here is one more delicious recipe we can add to that never-ending repertoire.  Honey-chipotle-lime grilled shrimp.  It was quick and easy and very tasty.  It had just the right amount of heat and sweet to get all the taste buds crying out for more.   This meal was a bit of flavor fusion, but all the flavors fused together deliciously.

Honey-Chipotle Lime Shrimp

1-1 1/2 lbs of large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/3 cup olive oil

2-3 TBSP lime juice

2 TBSP honey

1 TBSP garlic

3-4 whole chipotle chilies with sauce, minced

2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped fine

 

Mix all the ingredients together well, then add the shrimp and let marinate for about 30 minutes.  Once the shrimp has marinated in the sauce, skewer them and grill for about 6 minutes, making sure to rotate the skewers so the shrimp cooks evenly and does not burn.  Reserve the marinate and cook it for about 5-7 minutes, then add on top of the cooked shrimp as a sauce.

 

Since I was grilling the shrimp, I decided to make vegetable kebabs to go with the grilled shrimp.  You can use any kind of vegetables you like.  As I mentioned in my post, Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts vegetables contain very little if any fat, so they need to be marinated or coated in some kind of a fat when roasting or grilling so they do not burn.  The flavors of the vegetables also really pop out and come to life  when you use a bold and flavorful. acidic marinade.  I used a a variety of bell peppers, red onions, mushrooms, zucchini and yellow crookneck squash that I marinated in a zesty Italian dressing.  The vegetables will take longer to cook than the shrimp, so put those on the grill first.  When grilling vegetables, you want to cut the vegetables into large, thick chunks that will be able to withstand the direct heat from the grill and will not fall apart.

 

 

I served the honey-chipotle-lime shrimp over some leftover rice with corn, vegetable kebabs and naan bread.   To me, the perfect wine choice would be a rich, buttery chardonnay to help cut down on the acidity of the dish from the marinades.