Recipe by Chef Bret Thompson of Pez Cantina and La Piñata
@lapinatapopup @pezcantina @pezpowder
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
Swordfish
4 ea 6oz Swordfish fillets, thick cut
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil (or any oil of your choice)
Pez Powder Green Jalapeno and Lime Seasoning - Purchase inside our Markets or online HERE!
Shrimp
3 cups Water
2 lb 21/30 size Mexican Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pc Bay leaf (dry or fresh)
2 pc Garlic cloves
to taste Salt and pepper to taste
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil along with the bay leaf and garlic cloves. Add shrimp and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until shrimp are cooked throughout. Immediately strain the shrimp reserving about 1 cup of the liquid. Chill the shrimp stock.
Cool shrimp and reserve 12 whole pieces of shrimp. Cut the rest of the shrimp into medium sized pieces.
Sauce
1 cup Shrimp Stock, chilled from poaching
¼ cup Ketchup
½ cup Chipotle Salsa (or a good salsa)
1 Tbsp. Lime juice
Mix together all of these ingredients and set aside.
Fold ins
½ cup Tomato, small dices
½ cup Cucumber, small dices
2 Tbsp. Red onion, fine dices
½ bunch Cilantro, finely chopped
Garnish
Pez Powder Jalapeño
2 ea Avocado, halves
4 ea Lime wedges
Good tortilla chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
Kick on your gas or charcoal grill. Be sure your grill top is very clean, slightly oil and very hot before grilling the Swordfish to avoid sticking. Season Swordfish with Pez Powder Green Jalapeno and Lime Seasoning and then drizzle with a touch of olive oil. Place on grill and cook for 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. Remove from grill when fully cooked.
Plating
In a bowl add the sauce, the fold ins and the chopped shrimp. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble your plate by adding the shrimp cocktail mix first. Place 4 shrimp and 1 lime wedge around the rim of each dish and then top it with your grilled Swordfish. Sprinkle a little bit of Pez Powder Green onto your plate and enjoy!
About the Chef
Chef Bret Thompson
Chef Bret Thompson was inspired to create Pez Cantina, his seafood-focused restaurant in Downtown L.A., by his travels to Loreto on the Sea of Cortez and by his marriage into a Mexican family. At Pez he has a created a menu focused on sustainable, local ingredients that draws from the traditions of the distinct Coastal Mexican cuisines of Baja, Oaxaca, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Pez Cantina has quickly become a mainstay of Bunker Hill’s dining culture.
Bret’s earliest memories of the sea are from about the age of 7 when he would accompany his father and his uncles on overnight fishing trips out of San Pedro. His fishing skills at that young age were enough to draw the competitive spirit out of his adult relatives; it was on these trips that he first learned to love the sea.
Chef Thompson has been counting on Santa Monica Seafood for his fresh seafood since he was the opening chef for Catal at Downtown Disney in 2001. His advice to home cooks looking to make spectacular seafood at home is to focus on freshness first, heat second (“99.99999% of the time you cook seafood as hot as possible!”) and always be mindful of your spices. Don’t just salt once and be done with it – salt, taste, adjust and season again until you’ve got the flavor perfect.
Pez Cantina
401 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 258-2280
www.pezcantina.com
La Pinata
686 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 716-9400
www.pinata.la.com