Bacon Guacamole Stuffed Poblanos with Cilantro Lime Shrimp Skewers

Bacon Guacamole Stuffed Poblanos with Cilantro Lime Shrimp Skewers

This recipe name probably broke the record for longest recipe name ever. I know. But I couldn’t leave anything out! If you have a better suggestion, let me know because truthfully, coming up with all these recipe names can get quite challenging -especially when it’s 9 pm at night and your brain decided to shut off for the night.

But you will LOVE this recipe! It’s one of my favorite Mexican creations and I hope you get a chance to try it because it’s packed with so many different flavors. You get the smokiness from the bacon and charred poblanos and then the freshness from all the cilantro and lime and then a kick of spiciness, too (you control the level of spiciness so if spicy is not your thing, no worries!). It’s like a flavor explosion in your mouth and it’s absolutely wonderful! I could eat this meal a few nights a week and be perfectly content 🙂

Little tip when marinating shrimp and other seafood: If you have some sort of acid in your marinade (in this case, lime), it shouldn’t be marinating for over 30 minutes. If it does, the acid will start to break down the protein in the seafood and actually cook it.

Also, charred poblanos are fabulous if you’ve never had them before. Charring them on a grill, on broil in your oven, or directly on a stove top truly brings out their flavor and that’s also how poblanos are traditionally cooked in Mexico. You may be second guessing yourself after you see the completely black poblano. But that blackness easily rubs off and what you have left is a perfectly cooked, super flavorful poblano. You’ll love it!

Bacon Guacamole Stuffed Poblanos over Cilantro Lime Shrimp Skewers

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

3 poblano peppers

2 avocados, insides mashed

½ cup cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 lime, juiced

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch of red pepper flakes or more for desired spiciness

1 cup romaine lettuce, thinly sliced

4 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled

For the shrimp skewers:

1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 T olive oil or oil of choice

1 shallot, grated or finely chopped

1 lime, juiced and zested

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

¼ tsp red pepper flakes, or more for desired spiciness

sea salt and pepper, to taste

skewers – if using wooden skewers, make sure to soak in water for 30 minutes

DIRECTIONS:

Turn oven onto broil and place your oven rack at the top position. Broil your poblanos for 4-5 minutes, flip them over and broil for another 4-5 minutes until blackened and blistered. You can also do this directly on a grill or stove top burner.

Let the poblanos cool. Once cooled, gently rub off the blackened skin. You’ll see that it’s very thin and rubs off very easily. Make a slit in the peppers and remove the seeds. If you like things spicy, consider leaving a few seeds in there. Fill the lettuce evenly among the poblanos.

Combine the avocados, cilantro, red onion, lime juice and spices until well mixed. Stir 3 pieces of crumbled bacon to the avocado mixture. Place a few scoops of the bacon guacamole on top of the lettuce in the poblanos. Add the remaining piece of bacon, evenly on top of each guacamole filled poblano.

For the shrimp:

Combine the garlic, olive oil, shallot, lime juice and zest,cilantro, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper in a container. Place your shrimp in the container and stir until all the shrimp are coated in the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and let marinade for 30 minutes.

Once they are done marinating, place the shrimp on skewers. Broil your skewers on the top rack for 1-2 minutes, flip and broil the other side for 1-2 minutes or until shrimp are cooked. You can also grill your shrimp if you prefer to use the grill.

Serve the skewers with the stuffed poblano and extra cilantro and lime wedges and enjoy!