cinco de mayo 5/5/09

In honor of cinco de mayo I wanted to make something with mexican-y flare to celebrate but tacos or fajitas seemed too obvious... plus that was lunch! I decided on some shrimp and instantly thought of coconut crusted but didn't feel like frying so I did them in the oven. In order to have everything done at once - start up your rice before you start the shrimp recipe. The shrimp were also served with salsa and sour cream and a slice of lime.

coconut crusted shrimp (serves 4)
2 c. shaved coconut
1.5 lbs shrimp (shelled & deveined w/ tails attached)
1/3 c. cornstarch
salt
crushed red pepper
2 eggs, beaten
nonstick spray

1)heat oven to 400 F - spread coconut on sprayed cookie sheet and toast for approx 10 min (shake tray in middle to flip) - remove when browned
2) rinse and pat shrimp dry
3)make breading station w. 3 shallow dishes containing #1 cornstarch and spices, #2 egg wash, #3 toasted coconut
4) bread each shrimp holding by the tail and coating both sides in dish 1 -3 then place on sprayed cookie sheet
5) bake for approx 10 -15 min - flip after 10 min (shrimp will be solid and curled tighter usually)

rice & beans (serves 2)
1 14.5 oz can drained and rinsed black beans
1 c brown rice (basmati)
2 c water
2 scallions - diced
5 saffron stems
1 tbsp olive oil

1) cook rice in rice cooker (approx 40 min)
2) in pan heat olive oil
3) add beans, cooked rice & scallions - mix and heat approx 5 min
4) add saffron