Roasted Shrimp with Chipotle Aioli

As promised, here is Mexican installment 1,129.

Ok, that’s a wee bit of an exaggeration, but it might as well be true, since I’ve cooked or consumed Mexican food about a billion times in the past week.

Sorry, another exaggeration, but I just wanted to make sure you get my point – I’ve been obsessed. The ironic part is that I didn’t even realize today’s post had Mexican flavors laced through it until I was typing up the recipe and noticed that most of the key ingredients were typical of a Mexican dish. Go figure. Even when I’m not thinking Mexican, I’m thinking Mexican; I guess just as the heart wants what the heart wants; the stomach wants what the stomach wants.

Cheesy, but true.

This recipe came about when I was brainstorming food ideas for a get-together Kevin and I were hosting. I needed an easy-different-inexpensive appetizer that would appeal to all of the vastly different palates that would be attending. We had guests that love everything, and guests that love nothing, we had guests that prefer savory and guests that prefer sweet. I think that’s probably the hardest thing about serving a large group of people; each person has their own idea of what’s tasty. Because of this, I have a go-to-no-fail dish that I nearly always serve at parties – shrimp cocktail.

I’ve found that shrimp cocktail is one of those universally loved appetizers and is undoubtedly the first thing to be gobbled up at parties. Of course I can’t leave the tried and true classic alone, so I’m always trying to come up with new inventive spins on it. So far I’ve toyed with this shrimp cocktail with green goddess dip, I’ve also done a Thai style shrimp cocktail with peanut dipping sauce (post on that to come at a later date), and now we have today’s chipotle shrimp cocktail with chipotle garlic dipping sauce – arguably my favorite to date.

Raw shrimp are coated in olive oil and dusted with a little chipotle powder and salt, thrown into a blazing oven and roasted until perfectly pink and plump. They’re served with a garlic aioli that’s amped with lots of Mexican flavors like warm and smoky cumin, lime juice, and again spicy chipotle powder. What’s nice about this dish is that it’s a cinch to make and most of the ingredients are things that you probably already have in your fridge or pantry. One thing I will say – make a double batch – these guys will go FAST.