Camarones con Rajas

Don’t get me wrong. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at Javier’s in Las Vegas, but I simply wanted to serve the dish with more shrimp, and more rajas! So here I re-create a version of that fabulous Camarones con Rajas at home. It’s overloaded with succulent Alaska spot shrimp atop poblano chile strips and onions smothered in a garlic butter cream sauce.

Rajas con crema is a popular Mexican dish consisting of strips or slices (rajas in Spanish) of roasted poblano peppers in a cream sauce.

At Javier’s, we dined on aguachile del rey with bay scallop, shrimp, and octopus; empanadas de camarón; chile verde with braised pork and tomatillo sauce; and the camarones con rajas – all accompanied by their hand-shaken signature margaritas. This stunning upscale Mexican restaurant is located in the Aria Resort right next to the casino floor where hundreds of rope strands form an impressive canopy in the bar area.

Javier's Las Vegas — Javier’s dishes with Camarones con Rajas (top right)

While Javier’s prepares their dish with Mexican white prawns, I am elevating my dish with Alaska spot shrimp.

Alaska Spot Shrimp are sweet and plump. And if cooked correctly, they are luscious and much more tender than the Mexican prawn variety. With their slightly briny hint of the sea, spot shrimp taste like a sweet-buttery cross between lobster and Dungeness crab. They are just heavenly served over the poblano garlic butter cream.

Receta de Camarones Con Rajas

Camarones con Rajas

Ingredients:

3 fresh poblano chiles
1/2 white onion, sliced
butter
garlic butter cream sauce (recipe below)
spot shrimp
cilantro

Char poblano chiles on a grill or over an open flame. Place them in a large bowl and cover the hot charred poblanos with a kitchen towel and let stand for 5 -10 minutes. Remove the skin, veins, and seeds, then slice into strips. Set aside.

Sauté onion in a medium pan in a bit of butter until lightly golden. Add poblano strips (rajas) to heat through.

Combine garlic butter cream sauce with the rajas and onions. Add a splash of milk if the mixture is too thick. Taste for seasoning.

Camarones con Rajas

Garlic Butter Cream Sauce

1/3 c. unsalted butter
1 T. garlic, minced
1/4 t. dried mexican oregano
1 T. flour
1 c. milk
sea salt

Melt butter in a small sauté pan. Add garlic and oregano, and cook for one minute. Add flour and cook for one minute, stirring frequently. Slowly whisk in milk. Add salt to taste.

Camarones con Rajas

Spot Shrimp (Pandalus platyceros)

Paired white spots located just behind the head and in front of the tail, on the first and fifth abdominal segments, give the spot shrimp its common name.

Spot Shrimp (Pandalus platyceros)

Just before ready to serve –

Sauté peeled, room temperature shrimp for one minute per side in butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Camarones con Rajas

To Plate

Spoon warm rajas mixture into shallow bowls or plates. Top with shrimp. Garnish with cilantro.

Side Dishes

Javier’s serves Camarones con Rajas with a side of Arroz y Frijoles.

Hatch Chile Salsa Roja Rice

My Spicy Salsa Roja Rice

One cup of long grain rice is cooked according to package with a tablespoon of butter. The cooked rice is then mixed with a half cup of Hatch Jalapeño Salsa Roja and finished with cilantro leaves. The sauce is creamy & spicy, made from red jalapeños. This rice is so flavorful and hot!!!

Drunken Beans

My extra tasty drunken beans recipe is this one, with simply less liquid than used in the soup. Garnished with crumbled cotija cheese and radish batons.

Warm Flour Tortillas

Flour tortillas are served on the side.

Camarones con Rajas