Shrimp and Cod

Relaxing after dinner, last night, Victor said: You know what would be good? Those grilled vegetables on rice with shrimp and cod. With one of the pita breads.

A meal was born!

The grilled vegetables in the ‘fridge are getting a workout, this week. I can’t believe the concept hadn’t occurred to us before – grill a bunch of vegetables in advance and have them available when you want them. It really is a simple idea.

Tonight’s variation on a theme started with simple white rice. We probably have a half-dozen or more different rice varieties in the cupboard, but Goya Canilla rice is my go-to. 3-pound bag, $2.39.

On top of the rice went the grilled vegetables. I added a can of chopped green chiles, a pinch of cumin, and a pinch of ancho chili powder to them to switch out the base flavor. I don’t over-season them to begin with, so they can go in any direction…

On top of that went the shrimp and cod.

My original thought was to use some tomatoes and hot peppers from the yard to make a quick fresh sauce to poach the fish in. Alas, the skies opened up and torrential rains have been falling. I ain’t going out there for nuthin’.

Instead, I used a bit of Salsa Autentica and some chopped roasted red pepper. I brought it to a boil, placed the cut up fish and the shrimp into the sauce, stirred, covered, and turned off the heat. In three minutes I had perfectly-cooked seafood.

That went on top.

At the table, we had some homemade habanero hot sauce I made yesterday. Just one little bottle. It has a bit of heat but it also has a lot of flavor. I cut the peppers and vinegar with tequila and it really helped to mellow it out.

Habanero Hot Sauce

We also had a the pita. We made little bite-sized sandwiches and ate more with our fingers than with utensils.

Shrimp and Cod

All-in-all, a very fine dinner.